Public Art Projects

Newly Launched“Kerrville Runs on Water” campaign celebrates local art and raises water awareness Local youth art contest and new water mural in Kerrville 

Kerrville is proud to partner with Texas Runs on Water®(TROW)  to launch a local campaign highlighting the many ways Kerrville is built on water. TROW is a statewide water campaign   addressing the state’s growing water supply needs by spurring action and conversation around water, and inviting local partners to join the movement. 

To kickstart the local campaign, a group of partners including the Hill Country Alliance, Kerrville Community Arts Program, the Upper Guadalupe River Authority (UGRA), and Big Seed launched an art competition in schools, inviting students to submit artworks that celebrate their unique connections to water. The top two designs will be featured on local utility boxes on Water Street. 

“The story of Kerr County starts with the Guadalupe River,” explains Tara Bushnoe, General Manager at the UGRA. “The river provides water, economic prosperity, and quality of life, and it is unlikely that Kerrville would be located where it is today had it not been for the Guadalupe River. The students’ designs reflect that connection beautifully.“   

The organizing team received over 80 outstanding entries from students in Peterson Middle School, Tivy High School, and Notre Dame Catholic School. 

“We were so impressed by the quality of all the artwork submitted. We are grateful for the local art teachers who let us present this opportunity to students, and then guided them to create such amazing art,” says Katharine Boyette, Community Arts Program Director of the Kerrville CVB.

In addition to the organizing team, a panel of judges that included Mayor Judy Eychner, Becky Etzler of the Riverside Nature Center, and Karolyn Andrews of the Kerr County Water Alliance selected two winners: Tivy High School students Azur Anderson and Isabel Venegas, both grade 11. They also selected three honorable mentions: Darren Dang, grade 7, and Bellalinda Burtchell, grade 6, from Peterson Middle School, and Maitlyn Goodwyn, grade 10, from Tivy High School. These students will be awarded a prize and certificate at April 9th’s Kerrville City Council Meeting. 

Thanks to the generous support and encouragement of the Kerrville Public Utility Board (KPUB) and James Avery, the winning designs will be wrapped around two utility boxes on Water Street sometime in the spring. In the meantime, you can view some of the student entries at the Pint & Plow Brewing Co. now through March 10th.

Next up for the campaign: a new mural on Water Street that celebrates Kerrville’s connection to water. If you would like to support this effort, please visit: https://www.communityfoundation.net/donate and select the Kerrville Runs on Water fund.

About Texas Runs on Water 

Texas Runs on Water is a first-of-its-kind statewide water campaign developed by the Texas Water Foundation to inspire a generation of Texans to participate in the cultural and behavioral changes needed to meet future water supply needs. Launched in 2021, this campaign is intentionally designed as an umbrella concept that can be localized by region, audience, or water use, linking the value of water to pride in all things Texas. Learn more at TexasRunsonWater.org or follow along @TexasRunsonWater on Facebook and Instagram, and @TXRunsonWater on Twitter and Tiktok.

Annie Walker Doyle came to Kerrville in 1908. She was an educator and graduate of the Tuskegee Institute and the State Normal School in Prairie View, Texas. Soon after her arrival, she purchased three lots to be donated for the establishment of a school. The Black community raised funds to move an old frame building previously owned by the Kerrville school district to the donated property. Mrs. Doyle served as the only teacher at the Kerrville Colored School for more than 25 years.  

Mrs. Doyle passed away in 1937.  In 1940, married couple B.T. and Itasco Wilson arrived in Kerrville to teach. Soon after, the Wilsons led an effort to change the name to the Doyle Colored School, in honor of Annie Doyle. 

B.T. Wilson was an educator, musician, and community leader. He transformed the educational experience for Black children in Kerrville. During his tenure, he started both a choir and athletics program that traveled statewide. Known as "Prof" by many, B.T. served as the principal of the Doyle School until Kerrville schools were integrated in 1964. When the Doyle School closed in 1966,  B. T. Wilson moved to Tivy High School, where he taught mathematics and biology.  

The Doyle School, along with local businesses, churches, juke joints, and organized sports were the elements that made the Doyle neighborhood a vibrant and self-reliant community. Today, the Doyle Community Center and Carver Park serve as cultural and social centers for this historic neighborhood.

Mural designed and installed by George Waring

Assistance from Kristin LaRue, Marty Garcia, 

and the Kerrville community

This project was made possible by the Kerr County Lead 

“No Space” speaks to how each of us constantly deals

with our individual issues, and how challenging it can be

to take a step back and get space from them.

Whether it be family issues, body issues, comparing

yourself to others, or even to yourself, it is difficult to

remove oneself from them and discover the space to

thrive. We are often so fixated on how others perceive us

that we have no space in our minds to focus on the future

and work on improving ourselves.

This mural demonstrates how important it is to

acknowledge your personal mental health challenges

and become more comfortable in your own skin. No one

is free from struggles and it is important to raise each

other up, not tear each other down.

Mural designed by Pilar Garcia

Installation by Pilar Garcia, Carmela Garcia, and Marty Garcia

This project was made possible by Peterson Health

“The importance of water can be seen and felt all around Junction and Kimble County,” says Llano River Watershed Alliance President, Linda Fawcett.  “Kimble County is sometimes called The Land of Living Waters because of all the water that runs through our region, including the beautiful South Llano River that runs through Junction. The river is our drinking water supply, a source for irrigation, and a place to recreate.”

​

To organize this mural, the mural committee has joined forces with the Hill Country Alliance (HCA), a nonprofit that works with local partners to protect the clean waters, starry night skies, and open spaces of the Hill Country. This mural will be the first of its kind in the Hill Country, and Hill Country Alliance hopes it inspires murals like Junction’s around the Hill Country. 

​

“Because water is so local, and people’s relationships to water so personal, it was hugely important that this mural project be led by local Junction residents,” says HCA’s Water Program Manager, Marisa Bruno. “This effort wouldn’t be possible without the ideas, support, and action of community members.”

​

The mural is slated for completion in April and will be painted on the side of the Meals on Wheels Thrift Shoppe on Main Street. For technical support and artist recruitment, the mural committee is partnering with Big Seed, a Kerrville-based nonprofit that provides a medium for creative young people throughout the Texas Hill Country to explore and develop their artistic passion. Big Seed will provide the artist coaching and mural expertise to bring the mural designs to life.

​

Significantly, the ideas for the mural will come from within the community. The mural committee is partnering with Junction High School to get input and inspiration from students. Additionally, the mural committee welcomes ideas from the community.

Mural designed and installed by Oly Limon and Christan Powers.

In partnership with Hill Country Alliance, Llano River Watershed Alliance, Texas Water Foundation, and the community of Junction.

During the summer season at the Kerrville Olympic Pool,

swimmers share space with families of Barn Swallows, whose

mud nests are left undisturbed by City staff, providing safe

habitat for this native summer resident.

The nest in this outdoor hallway and above the Men’s locker

room entrance is reused each year by the Swallows, who

return to Kerrville every June after wintering in Central and

South America.

In the evenings, as pool users exit the facility through the

locker room hallway, nesting Barn Swallows swoop in and out

feeding hungry babies who, by summer’s end, are strong

enough to leave the nest and join the evening hunt for flying

insects. Both male and female Swallows build nests and feed

their young.

Swallows feed largely on flies, but will also eat wasps, beetles,

bees, moths, grasshoppers, and other insects. A single

Swallow can consume as many as 850 insects in one day.

Designed and installed by students of Fredericksburg High

School, June 2021:

Emma Stewart Olivia Findley Lexi Sione

Kennedy West Whitney Phillips Journie Valadez

guided by Julie Mangum

Made possible by Big Seed, supporting young creatives

throughout the Kerrville area, with funding from H-E-B.

The earth’s oceans cover seventy-one percent of the

planet. It is estimated that over 700,00 species live in

these waters.

These powerful ecosystems help regulate our

weather and climate, absorb vast amounts of carbon

dioxide, provide much of the oxygen in atmosphere,

and contribute food to a substantial portion of the

human population.

This artistic representation of ocean life reminds us of

the magnificent biodiversity of the natural world, and

of our responsibility to protect and preserve the

natural systems that support us.

Designed and installed by Samantha Bass, Tivy High

School, July 2021, guided by Kristin LaRue.

Made possible by Big Seed, supporting young

creatives throughout the Texas Hill Country, with

funding from H-E-B.

Before the Industrial Revolution, horses were a primary

form of transportation. Populated places were once full

of carriages and wagons, with horses transporting

people and goods across town. As technological

advancements led to the replacement of horses with

automobiles, negative environmental impacts

accumulated. Now, transportation continues to evolve,

as electric vehicles begin to enter the mainstream.

Seven shades of green, highlighted in black and white,

represent new development, new life, and continued

renewal. A waxing moon symbolizes the illuminating

phases of human understanding - blackbirds, the human

phases of advancement including resting and

recharging.

As the evolution of transportation technology moves

toward renewable and sustainable energy sources,

communities and utilities are incorporating infrastructure

that make these advancements possible. This mural is

dedicated by the artist to the Creator who makes all

things possible, including the ability to use knowledge

for advancement, stewardship, and greater ease of life

on earth.

Mural designed and installed by Ren Wright-Trapino and students

Notre Dame Catholic School, Kerrville

This project was made possible by Big Seed, supporting young

creatives throughout the Kerrville area, with funding and support

from the Kerrville Public Utility Board

Tennis and art bring joy to both participants and

observers. Just as the swing of the racket pulls you into

the game, the stroke of a brush can draw us into a scene

and carry us into a story, a journey, or a deeper

understanding of our world. Art has a way of captivating

interest and inspiring others to tap into their own

creativity.

Bright colors can bring light into our lives. Contrasts

between light and dark helps tell a story - sometimes the

story that’s happening between the lines.

Movement is beauty - art is in motion. Within each action

is a power to make us feel something within ourselves,

whether holding a racket or holding a brush. Creativity is

in all of us, if we only find the inspiration to draw it out.

Mural designed and installed by Olivia Findley

Fredericksburg High School, Class of 2022

This project was made possible by the City of Kerrville

Our local streams gather water from precipitation and

from underground aquifers and direct it in ever-growing

progressions toward the Guadalupe River. Here, Quinlan

Creek flows into the Guadalupe about 300 yards to the

south. These waterways are critical habitat for turtles like

the Guadalupe Spiny Softshell and the Red-eared Slider,

for fish like the Blacktail Shiner, and for tadpoles of

numerous frogs and toads.

Local waterways cut through ancient seabeds. Today you

can find fossils of marine mollusks and algae that lived

here in shallow seas in the days of the dinosaurs.

Riparian areas are bedrock qualities of Kerrville’s distinct

natural beauty and local ecosystem. These terrestrial

habitats along streams and rivers form critical food and

shelter sources for many species of birds, amphibians,

insects, and mammals. These are the areas where turtles

nest, ringtails prowl at night, and foxes trot unnoticed

due to their excellent camouflage.

Listen and look for tiny cricket frogs whose calls sound

like marbles clicking together, chattery Carolina wrens

flying around the underbrush, turtles basking on

protruding logs, and owls hiding high in trees. They are

all aspects of a complex food web that relies as much on

nutrients moving from stream to land as it does the other

way around.

Mural designed by Mackenzie Wade

Schreiner University Communication Design, Class of 2018

Funded by the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country