Community members want to repaint the lime tree with artwork

COLUMBUS, Ohio – For the local artist Francesca Millerin everything she sees a masterpiece, a blank canvas, even a community.

“The possibilities are endless,” she said. “Like me, I automatically see a bunch of colors and life that can come out of it.”

She started painting at the age of six, expressing her feelings and emotions with a brush.

“Our joy, our excellence, our success, just emphasizing the non-traumatic side of things,” Miller said.

Now she sees where her work can make the most difference, in the Linden community.

Miller says the community was painted as an area with flashing lights and violence.

“When you keep seeing that you feel like you’re stuck there, like it’s my story and it’s not, it’s something bigger,” she said.

That’s why she and Becca Beach want the artwork to be spread around the streets, boarded-up businesses and abandoned spaces.

“Looking at public art in a lime tree is something that the community can enjoy, but it also sends a larger message and can bring people together and bring joy,” Beach said.

Beech is the outreach coordinator for Linden Murals of Empowerment. She said the group has 30 pieces of art from the 2020 protests.

They are already working with some of Linden’s community leaders to create and add art to the community.

Miller says it’s a way to repaint Linden for the better.

“Seeing that people have taken the time to invest and create something beautiful in the space that you live in makes you proud of life,” Miller said.

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