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METAIRIE, La. (WGNO) — Elected leaders in Jefferson Parish joined members of the Metairie Business Development District and Arts Council New Orleans to mark the completion of the Fat City Mural Project. Organizers say the collection is one of the largest public mural projects in the Deep South. Most of the murals are within walking distance along North Arnoult and 18th Street. Below is a photo gallery of the murals.  All of the photos were provided by the Metairie Business Development District.
  • Bead Dogs by Hollis + Lana
  • The Masquerade View by Luis Hurtado
  • Imaginatarium by Forrest Reiff
  • In Fat City by Robert Dafford
  • Everyone's in the Belly of Some Beast by Chris Pavlik
  • She Dreamed of a Place Called Fat City by Candy Chang
  • Carnival of Time by Kyle Nugent
  • Dreams by Robert Dafford
  • Gabriel Sez by Aaron Harper
  • Legs in the Air by Kyle Bravo
The murals are just part of the effort to revitalize Fat City.  The work began in 2011 when the parish instituted a midnight closing time for bars in Fat City.  The following year, the parish brought in consultants who worked on the revitalization of Times Square in New York.  Since then, the area has opened a Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office substation, hosted events like food truck rallies, and even has its own Christmas lights display. The mural project cost a little more than $100,000.  The Arts Council New Orleans group hopes the New Orleans area will add 50 new, public murals by the city’s tricentennial celebration in 2018. As for Fat City, Jefferson Parish leaders hope the murals will increase foot traffic in the neighborhood.