The Springs Magazine is honored to share the work of artist Perrion Hurd on our December cover. Hurd is a master printmaker, public art muralist, and teaching artist. Much of his work revolves around his love of music and geometric shapes with strong lines and bold colors.
Hurd’s newest large-scale mural, “Freedom,” is prominently displayed in Hot Springs on the corner of Market Street and Central Avenue. The concept for the mural was proposed to the Hot Springs Area Cultural Alliance who then commissioned Hurd to come up with a design honoring the heroic life and impact of Harriet Tubman.
At the unveiling ceremony at the Central Theatre on November 21, a short program offered a glimpse into the life and legacy of Harriet Tubman, an American abolitionist and political activist, whose sheer force of will and fortitude defied impossible odds to change the course of her life and the fate of the nation. Born into slavery, Tubman escaped and subsequently made some 13 missions to rescue approximately 70 enslaved people, including family and friends, using the network of antislavery activists and safe houses known as the Underground Railroad. Despite the efforts of the slaveholders, Tubman and the fugitives she assisted were never captured. Years later, she told an audience: “I was conductor of the Underground Railroad for eight years, and I can say what most conductors can’t say – I never ran my train off the track and I never lost a passenger.”
Perrion and the Cultural Alliance invite you to come take selfies with the “Freedom” mural, post them on social media, and share the story of one of our nation’s most courageous women.
Special thanks to Richard Stephens for incorporating Hurd’s design into our December cover.
