Walt “Wali” Neil
RENOWNED MURALIST, MASTER PAINTER & ILLUSTRATOR
Walt "Wali" Neil is an immense talent, and his commitment to painting has inspired three generations of artists around the nation to create art that represents and speaks to the black community. Neil's lifetime of creative work amplifies the need to cherish public murals, figurative African American art, as well as African diaspora music and dance.
WALT WALI NEIL (1954-2020)
“Wali wanted to paint the whole world, and he did”
SLIDESHOW FEATURING MURALS BY WALT NEIL
Sela Mariama
WALT NEIL DOCUMENTARY
Donte Woods-Spikes
Wali’s Time is Now Award-winning director Donte Woods-Spikes interviewed the King-Lincoln/Bronzeville art community about Neil’s mural and commissions legacy, creating a documentary based on Wali’s life with Columbus art and artists at its heart.
Sheri Neale is Board Chair of Maroon Arts Group and facilitated a memorial for Wali was led by Baba Tony West at the MPACC BoxPark in 2020; Wali’s ashes reside at the site. Maroon Arts Group also organized the community-centered Wali Day Sunday, September 5, with All Peoples Arts, the Wali Mural League, Sound Therapy, and original art. This day honored three great Columbus artists, Walt Neil, Smoky Brown, and Robert Stull.
WALT “WALI” NEIL IN THE NEWS
Easton Mural to honor Walt Wali Neil
Collective Arts Network Cleveland “Walt Neil: Until We Meet Again” by Gwendolyn Garth
Columbus Dispatch “Artist Walt Wali Neil remembered for depictions of Black life, love” Erica Thompson
Hot Times Festival Hot Times Artist News, “Wali Neil Honored!”
Hot Times Festival “In Memory 2020”
ARTIST OF THE SPIRIT
Curated by Sela Mariama, April 4 - April 30, 2022
PAINTINGS & PRINTS
ARTIST OF THE SPIRIT COLLECTION
BOXPARK GALLERY COLLECTION
