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It doesn’t take a visitor long to notice there’s something unique about the city of Des Moines. They don’t have to look hard to see the walls and alleyways decorated with art. In recent years Des Moines has become notorious for its murals, which have expanded from the downtown area and are now scattered about the city. As interesting as these pieces are, so are the artists who create them.

Brian Bonanno is a local art curator who has instituted many projects in the Des Moines area over the past few years. He first got involved with murals three years ago as part of a community development initiative geared to rejuvenate and engage the community.

He also wanted to reach out to the communities that are sometimes left behind or forgotten about in the discussion for city planning and development. That is why he chose to take part in public art, Bonanno said.

He said that art and culture are two of the best ways to engage people. Although he does not consider himself an artist, he has helped with the majority of the murals in the Des Moines area, as well as painted murals for businesses, including a mural titled Clean Mural on E. University Avenue.

His goal when working on a mural or project is to activate space that is underused and create an emphasis of pride and positivity for those people who live in the community.

Of the new murals near the East Village and Greater DSM area, Bonanno said that he was happy to see more artwork, but he hoped that same type of artwork would not continue because it is not helping the community growth.

Bonanno said that there is room for local and non-local and artists to come in, paint and share their artwork.

 “It’s good to have a diversity of artwork,” Bonanno said. “It’s kind of needed, so that we can grow, grow the scene and really catch up to different cities that are embracing public art of all different kinds to breathe new life into different neighborhoods.”

Amy Putney Koenig is a local artist from the Des Moines area who has been an artist as long as she can remember. Her first major breakthrough happened while she was in college at Iowa State University. She painted part of the elevator on her dormitory floor and that led her to develop a passion for painting murals.

Another big project that she did was painting at a punk-rock pub called Harry Mary’s in 1992. Putney Koenig said that she paints to transform a room or a space for the benefit of everyone else, so that then they can fall in love with it.

Her artistic style involves using simple lines and flat, bright color, while combining words, symbolism and patterns together.

Some future projects of hers that are in the works include a mural at the Village by Gray’s Lake as well as some hallway interactive murals at Mercy College with messaging and borders. She also plans to paint murals at some of the Des Moines Public Schools.

Some advice Koenig had for people who were considering murals in the future was to, “Look at the medium that you work in (and) find friends that will work for you (as well as) a method that works for you.”

Jenna Brownlee is another local Des Moines artist who fell in love with art at a young age, when she was a student at the Des Moines Art Center. She continued that artistic vision in college at the University of Iowa where she studied graphic design. However, she did not get involved with doing public art and murals until 2017.

One project that Brownlee has done locally is a mural on the corner of 7^th Street and Park Street called My Heart Belongs to Des Moines.

Her artistic style when it comes to murals encompasses bright, colorful and vibrant design with an emphasis on typography, flowers and letters. She wants people to “smell the roses” and simply to be happy when they see her artwork.

Brownlee said that her primary goal when making art is fulfillment because art is what makes her happy, and it is unique and exciting for her. She wants to add to and beautify the community.

“Be authentic to yourself and your own artistic style. Your art should be a reflection of who you are as a person,” Brownlee said.

A future project of hers that is currently in the works is a mural that will be painted at a chiropractic building in Cherokee, IA with a theme reflecting the Cherokee community.

One thing all of these artists have in common is the desire to cultivate a sense of community through their art. Whether people stop by them to take selfies or reflect on the artwork displayed, the murals around Des Moines are bringing people together.