A stunning new mural that stands 30 feet tall and 200 feet wide has been completed on the Workshops Empowerment, Inc. building in front of the Hugh Kaul Trail in Avondale.

The mural is located at 4244 3rd Ave S, Birmingham, AL 35222

Three beloved Birmingham non-profit organizations — Studio by the Tracks, Workshops Empowerment, Inc. (WE) and Freshwater Land Trust — collaborated on the project along with local muralist Shawn Fitzwater.

Beautifying the Hugh Kaul Trail

Laura Cushman with Studio by the Tracks told Bham Now that the purpose of the mural is to beautify the Hugh Kaul Trail, which is part of the Rotary Trail and Red Rock Trail System.

“It goes back behind Workshops Empowerment. Freshwater Land Trust noticed a lot of people didn’t realize that they could use the trail because it felt like it was the back alley of Workshops Empowerment. So the purpose of the mural was to beautify that area and make people feel like they were supposed to be there and they were on a public trail.”

Laura Cushman with Studio by the Tracks

How the mural was put together

Over 10 artists from Studio by Tracks, a nonprofit art gallery and studio for adult artists with autism contributed to the design. It took Fitzwater about two weeks to paint the mural and carry out their vision.

According to Austin England, Director of Marketing for WE, the painting was made all the more significant when they discovered one of the designers of the mural previously worked at the WE.

“We found out after the fact, that one of the people we helped get a job here— one of her designs is on the mural — the moth!. It was really cool to see that someone we served end up having one of their designs highlighted back there.”

Austin England, Director of Marketing for WE

Cushman added:

“It made sense for us to work with Workshops Empowerment, because they work with people with disabilities and we work with people with autism. We do serve a similar community and population of people. It was a great pairing.”

Below is a gallery of the mural.