A new mural is close to completion in Benton Harbor, this time on the side of Ravitron at 276 Colfax Avenue. Owner David Ravitch tells us he’d been thinking for years about having a mural painted on the side of his building, so he started having conversations with others about what it could be.
“We brought in two artists, Eric Bradford and Jessica Hightower, and we gave them a couple of underlying ideas,” Ravitch said. “We wanted to promote technology, we wanted to promote minorities and women in technology, and Benton Harbor spirit.”
The two artists are now putting the finishing touches on the mural on the north side of the building. It’s a 90-foot wall, and Ravitch says they’ve been working for about four months. The mural depicts images from Benton Harbor and what Ravitch calls “hidden figures” in technology. One goal is to get more people visiting downtown Benton Harbor by making a walking tour of its murals possible.
“If you come downtown, you can look at one mural, there’s a QR code, you click on it, and you’re brought to this website with a walking tour of all the murals in downtown Benton Harbor.”
Young artists from the Boys and Girls Club of Southwest Michigan’s Benton Harbor campus also helped paint the mural. Ravitch is planning an unveiling and celebration on August 24 from 4 to 6 p.m. The event will be co-hosted by the Southwest Michigan Regional Chamber.
