project overview

SLICE | GOOCH PARK

After receiving a project grant through UAC’s first iteration of its Neighborhood Art Initiative program, the H.U.G. Park Friends, a grassroots neighborhood organization founded by Jo Ann Street in 2015, released an open call seeking an artist to create an outdoor mural for the Gooch Park Pool facility.

Gooch Park is a 10-acre city park featuring a picnic pavilion basketball courts, shaded greenspace, a multi-use athletic field, and a public swimming pool. The park serves the Hollywood, Hyde Park, and Springdale neighborhoods. Founded by Mr. and Mrs. Cecil Milton and Boyce Alexander Gooch, and dedicated in 1957, Gooch Park was among the first parks in Memphis designated for African American residents. The public swimming pool opened in 1959; that same year, the park hosted the city’s first African American bicycle rodeo. Memphis musicians including Elvis Presley, Yo Gotti, Gangsta Pat, and Harvey Henderson of The Barkays have all been known to frequent the park.

Today, Gooch is one of three parks adopted by the H.U.G. Park Friends, a grassroots neighborhood organization founded by Jo Ann Street in 2015. Thanks to the organization’s transformative work, Gooch has seen reduced crime and now hosts regular sporting events, free lunch events for youth, litter cleanups, and other volunteer programs. Memphis City Beautiful noted that the H.U.G. Park Friends were one of the most active groups in their Adopt-A-Park program. In October 2020, Jamond Bullock’s design was selected by a committee of Friends members and neighborhood representatives.

“When I lost all my projects the community voted for me to plant this flower in the hood .”

— Jamond Bullock

“The cyclist in the design represent an African American cycling club that gathered at Gooch park”

“During the inception of this design I wanted to illustrate something fun to look at, but I also was interested in reflecting on some of the historical details, as well. The cyclist in the design represents an African American cycling club that gathered at Gooch park. In the lead of the bike race is the first African American to cross the color barrier in sports; he was a successful cyclist named Marshall Major Taylor. Although Taylor did not live in this region, I used his image as a symbol to pay homage to African American cyclists that were not often photographed during that era. In the notes I saw that someone stated that since the park had been kept clean the geese came back to frequent the park. The birds are a subliminal image of community pride and a welcome to guests of all ages to the park. In the distance two of the birds are toting sack lunches that reflect on the free lunches donated to children at Gooch. There is also a portion of the mural dedicated to the donor of the park, Cecil M. Gooch. If you look closer you can find traces of wood grain layered in the design to give a nod to the Gooch’s lumber company previously located in this neighborhood. On a separate wall the center focus is a young lady doing a canon ball into the pool; the gold wings symbolize joy and freedom. Underneath there is blue pyramid that represents the blues city we call home Memphis.” - Jamond Bullock

Want to read more? Check out this article from The Daily Memphian highlighting more details about this project!

“the gold wings symbolize joy and freedom”

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Jamond Bullock

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Jamond Bullock

Born and raised in Memphis, TN, Jamond Bullock received a BA in Fine Art from LeMoyne-Owen College in 2008. Primarily working in acrylic, Bullock’s style is colorful, loose, and expressive. He is best known for his murals throughout the city, many of which incorporate historical and community themes. He says his purpose in life is to “create and spread artistic vision throughout the world.” He is also a performance painter for special events under the name Alive Paint.