New Bern Strong Mural
2024
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"New Bern Strong" became coined by the residents of New Bern following Hurricane Florence, a category 4 hurricane that came through the Carolina's in September of 2018. The city of New Bern dealt with structural, financial, and emotional loss throughout the time period following the disaster, so "New Bern Strong" represents a proclamation of strength and unity by the citizens of New Bern.
Starting on April 27th, 2024, Craven Arts Council & Gallery hosted community paint days, allowing the public to contribute by painting the people in the mural. Designed by Craven Arts, the mural depicts our community coming together as one under a silhouette of downtown New Bern. Mike Rogers CPA was one of the buildings affected by Hurricane Florence. The mural is inspired by these events and the community joining together to overcome them. Over 300 people contributed to the final design. |
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Community Paint Days
April 27th
May 11th
August 3rd (Dedication)
April 27th
May 11th
August 3rd (Dedication)
Drone photos captured by Ben Lindemann
Progress photos taken on June 1st, 2024
Thank you to our Sponsors!
Title Sponsor
Mike Rogers CPA
Mike Rogers CPA
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Innovation Sponsor Danielle Peoples, Lorelei, Stewart Equipment Co. Inc. Creativity Sponsors John Hanley Steve Kelly Jim & Marie Vecchio Billy, Lisa Ayn, & Kyla Ann Setliff Georgia & Paul Johnson Imagination Sponsors Rose Ann Stabile Simon, Catherine Little, Pinkys The Pub Upstairs & Pat Kruger |
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Statement on the New Bern Strong Mural
March 21, 2026
Craven Arts Council & Gallery is aware that the New Bern Strong mural, formerly located at 328 S Front Street in downtown New Bern, has been painted over for the production of a new mural. While we are deeply saddened to see this mural go, all community murals completed by Craven Arts Council & Gallery in conjunction with a business or organization are ultimately at will and responsibility of whomever has ownership of the building. The 328 S Front Street property was sold in 2025 to the new owner, King & Lasso. The Craven Arts Council Gallery had preliminary conversations with current ownership about the significance of this mural to the local community, hoping to advocate for it; however, we were not able to sway their opinion, and the final decision, as do all murals we produce, remains in the care of the owner of the building, and is not up to our discretion.
New Bern Strong was completed in 2024, as a community painted public art project that involved over 300 volunteer members of our community, and local sponsors who contributed to its cost & production. This mural was created in memoriam to the effects of the 2018 Category 4 hurricane, Hurricane Florence in New Bern, North Carolina. The community coined the phrase “New Bern Strong” to remark on their resilience and strength in rebuilding the community. We worked with the then owner of the building, Mike Rogers, with the idea of an image that represented the community coming together in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence, and the spirit of neighbors helping neighbors that emerged, along with the phrase “New Bern Strong” that began to be used. The design featured that signature phrase over the New Bern skyline, along with over a thousand abstract figures, painted in various shades of blue. The project was part of our Art in Public Places program, to “create art for the community, by the community,” with community paint days held that spring into the summer. It was the largest public art project Craven Arts Council & Gallery has taken to date, and became a landmark for the community.
In 2025, the building was sold to new owners, King and & Lasso. We spoke with the new owner about the significance of the image, and its importance to the community. We attempted to dissuade them from the idea of covering the mural, and suggested other alternatives, such their forthcoming building at 500 Queen Street, or the idea of a partnership for murals on other properties. As of this week, we were still unaware that any formal arrangement had been made to cover over the old mural, until Thursday when another organization contacted us. As we had been relatively unsuccessful with contacting the owner in the past, we asked a partner organization that had a working relationship with the owner to reach out on our behalf, though we did not hear back. We were unaware of the timeline for covering the image and found out like many, last night from social media posts, which we confirmed early this morning. We were not aware and did not endorse the decision to paint over this mural as it remained in good repair, just months ahead of its 2-year completion mark and 2 years shy from the 10-year anniversary since the event.
Public art can serve many purposes, often at the same time: it can beautify spaces; create cultural landmarks; commemorate historic events; and be an access point for the community into the arts. Our goals with this mural were all of the above, and we believe we were largely successful. It is disheartening to see a piece that embodied those goals, along with the time, money, and energy leaving us so soon, without real notification, input, or engagement from the community or organization that created it. We recognize that the site and building are the personal property of King and Lasso, and the decision was ultimately theirs to make; however, we do not embrace the decision to remove of a public project that embodied the strength, resiliency, teamwork of our community, in both image and process, when it was so recently completed and still in good repair. We understand that public art is temporary by its nature of exposure to the elements, but there are ways and channels of handling the decommissioning of public art that honor its legacy and contribution, while making way for new works.
It is our understanding that the new mural will be completed by Georgie Nakima, a talented and accomplished muralist originally from New Bern. Our organization has worked with Georgie before, and respect her abilities and connection to the community. While we have not seen the proposed new design, we know she has the abilities and skills to create something beautiful and creative in that space; though we would have preferred it in any of the many other locations in downtown New Bern available, and would have been happy to be a part of that process. She has expressed an interest in leaving and incorporating a portion of the New Bern Strong mural into the new design, which, while not our desired outcome, does at least preserve a part of the image, and is a testament to what our organization and community have accomplished.
Craven Arts Council & Gallery thanks the community in not only for the completed image itself, but overall support and participation in a public project that embodied the strength, resiliency, teamwork of our community, and organization. While this mural is no longer on public display, we do have the photographs, videos, memories, and community unity that we carry with us today. We would like to thank all of more than 300 volunteers who came out to help us paint the New Bern Strong mural, and the sponsors: Mike Rogers CPA; Danielle Peoples; Lorelei; Stewart Equipment Co.; John Hanley; Steve Kelly; Jim & Marie Vecchio; Billy, Lisa Ayn, & Kyla Ann Setliff; Georgia & Paul Johnson; Rose Ann Stabile Simon; Catherine Little; Pinky’s The Pub Upstairs; and Pat Kruger.
We would also like to invite our community to participate in our newest murals, on April 25th, from 10am to 4pm. These two new murals will be located on northwest corner of The Chelsea, and the back porch of The Flying Fox. More information on these projects, and our other public art, exhibitions, and murals can be found on our website, at www.cravenarts.org. We invite you help us create a new public art piece, that we hope will beautify and highlight our creative city for many years to come.
New Bern Strong was completed in 2024, as a community painted public art project that involved over 300 volunteer members of our community, and local sponsors who contributed to its cost & production. This mural was created in memoriam to the effects of the 2018 Category 4 hurricane, Hurricane Florence in New Bern, North Carolina. The community coined the phrase “New Bern Strong” to remark on their resilience and strength in rebuilding the community. We worked with the then owner of the building, Mike Rogers, with the idea of an image that represented the community coming together in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence, and the spirit of neighbors helping neighbors that emerged, along with the phrase “New Bern Strong” that began to be used. The design featured that signature phrase over the New Bern skyline, along with over a thousand abstract figures, painted in various shades of blue. The project was part of our Art in Public Places program, to “create art for the community, by the community,” with community paint days held that spring into the summer. It was the largest public art project Craven Arts Council & Gallery has taken to date, and became a landmark for the community.
In 2025, the building was sold to new owners, King and & Lasso. We spoke with the new owner about the significance of the image, and its importance to the community. We attempted to dissuade them from the idea of covering the mural, and suggested other alternatives, such their forthcoming building at 500 Queen Street, or the idea of a partnership for murals on other properties. As of this week, we were still unaware that any formal arrangement had been made to cover over the old mural, until Thursday when another organization contacted us. As we had been relatively unsuccessful with contacting the owner in the past, we asked a partner organization that had a working relationship with the owner to reach out on our behalf, though we did not hear back. We were unaware of the timeline for covering the image and found out like many, last night from social media posts, which we confirmed early this morning. We were not aware and did not endorse the decision to paint over this mural as it remained in good repair, just months ahead of its 2-year completion mark and 2 years shy from the 10-year anniversary since the event.
Public art can serve many purposes, often at the same time: it can beautify spaces; create cultural landmarks; commemorate historic events; and be an access point for the community into the arts. Our goals with this mural were all of the above, and we believe we were largely successful. It is disheartening to see a piece that embodied those goals, along with the time, money, and energy leaving us so soon, without real notification, input, or engagement from the community or organization that created it. We recognize that the site and building are the personal property of King and Lasso, and the decision was ultimately theirs to make; however, we do not embrace the decision to remove of a public project that embodied the strength, resiliency, teamwork of our community, in both image and process, when it was so recently completed and still in good repair. We understand that public art is temporary by its nature of exposure to the elements, but there are ways and channels of handling the decommissioning of public art that honor its legacy and contribution, while making way for new works.
It is our understanding that the new mural will be completed by Georgie Nakima, a talented and accomplished muralist originally from New Bern. Our organization has worked with Georgie before, and respect her abilities and connection to the community. While we have not seen the proposed new design, we know she has the abilities and skills to create something beautiful and creative in that space; though we would have preferred it in any of the many other locations in downtown New Bern available, and would have been happy to be a part of that process. She has expressed an interest in leaving and incorporating a portion of the New Bern Strong mural into the new design, which, while not our desired outcome, does at least preserve a part of the image, and is a testament to what our organization and community have accomplished.
Craven Arts Council & Gallery thanks the community in not only for the completed image itself, but overall support and participation in a public project that embodied the strength, resiliency, teamwork of our community, and organization. While this mural is no longer on public display, we do have the photographs, videos, memories, and community unity that we carry with us today. We would like to thank all of more than 300 volunteers who came out to help us paint the New Bern Strong mural, and the sponsors: Mike Rogers CPA; Danielle Peoples; Lorelei; Stewart Equipment Co.; John Hanley; Steve Kelly; Jim & Marie Vecchio; Billy, Lisa Ayn, & Kyla Ann Setliff; Georgia & Paul Johnson; Rose Ann Stabile Simon; Catherine Little; Pinky’s The Pub Upstairs; and Pat Kruger.
We would also like to invite our community to participate in our newest murals, on April 25th, from 10am to 4pm. These two new murals will be located on northwest corner of The Chelsea, and the back porch of The Flying Fox. More information on these projects, and our other public art, exhibitions, and murals can be found on our website, at www.cravenarts.org. We invite you help us create a new public art piece, that we hope will beautify and highlight our creative city for many years to come.
