Bright Walls

08/31/2026

📸 AND THE WINNERS ARE…

You all showed up for the Bright Walls Photo Contest, and we loved seeing Emily Ding and The Lion and the Mouse through your eyes.

After counting the likes + loves, here are your top five, in order:

🥇 1st Place: Wes Berlin
68 votes

🥈 2nd Place: Elizabeth Spisich
48 votes

🥉 3rd Place: Brandi Gaston
37 votes

⭐ 4th Place: Susan Ptasinski Lovell
18 votes

⭐ 5th Place: Jeff Pratt
14 votes

A huge congratulations to our winners, and thank you to everyone who grabbed a camera, shared a photo, voted and helped celebrate Emily’s return to Jackson.

We loved seeing so many different perspectives of this mural coming back to life.

And most importantly, thank you for continuing to show up for public art in Jackson. ❤️

We’ll be reaching out to our top three about their Bright Walls prizes!

08/28/2026

A fun little Bright Walls reunion in downtown Jackson. 🎨

Emily Ding is back in Jackson restoring The Lion and the Mouse, her 2019 Bright Walls mural, and Bart Hawley stopped by to talk about the mural, the restoration, and what it’s like seeing it come back to life seven years later.

Big shoutout to Bart and JTV for always being in our corner, and to Jackson School of the Arts for helping make this restoration happen.

Give it a watch, then go check out the mural in person. 🦁🐭

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

08/27/2026

Join us to celebrate the mural restoration! We’d love to see you!

Bright Walls giveaways to those who attend.

Celebrate summer on the JSA rooftop patio as we welcome back artist Emily Ding to restore our beloved 2019 Bright Walls Lion & Mouse Mural!

08/26/2026

📸 BRIGHT WALLS PHOTO CONTEST!

Emily Ding is back in Jackson, and her mural is getting some love. Now we want to see it through your lens!

Between now and Sunday at 5 p.m., take your best photo featuring Emily, her Bright Walls mural, or both. Then share one photo in the comments on this post by the deadline.

Want Emily in your photo? Don’t wait, she’ll finish painting and leave Jackson late Friday.

The sooner you post, the more time you’ll have to collect votes.
👍❤️ The photos with the most likes and loves will win. We’ll share the top five on our Instagram and Facebook Stories.

1st Place: A custom Bright Walls Carhartt duffel bag filled with limited-edition Bright Walls goodies, plus a feature on our Instagram and pages and a big shoutout.

2nd and 3rd Place: Bright Walls prizes, too!

Winners will be announced Monday at 6 p.m.

This restoration is made possible in partnership with Jackson School of the Arts.

While Emily is in town, join us Thursday for the Bright Walls Mural Restoration + End of Summer Patio Party! at JSA. Ticket proceeds support the restoration of her mural.

Can’t attend but still want to help? Donate any amount through the event link.

Grab your camera/phone, get creative and show us your best shot!

Thanks for helping us celebrate Emily, her mural and public art in Jackson, Michigan.

08/23/2026

A Bright Walls favorite is getting new life this week.

Artist Emily Ding is returning to Jackson to restore her 2019 mural, The Lion and the Mouse, a colorful piece inspired by the classic Aesop fable about kindness, courage and the impact we can have on one another.

Emily will be in town Wednesday through Friday working on the mural and helping us preserve a piece of public art that means a lot to our community.

This restoration is a partnership with Jackson School of the Arts. On Thursday, we’re hosting a patio party with Emily at the school. Ticket proceeds will support the mural restoration, so come hang out, meet the artist and help keep public art alive in Jackson.

Purchase your event tickets now and join us for an evening celebrating art, community and Emily’s return to Jackson.

Tickets:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mural-restoration-end-of-summer-patio-party-tickets-1998505920005?aff=oddtdtcreator

Stay tuned for more updates.

08/21/2026

Something bright is stirring downtown.

We’re not bringing the festival back, but one Bright Walls mural is about to get some love.

Stay tuned.

02/01/2024

Putting Jackson, Michigan on the map!
Our team member, Clay McAndrews, was selected to represent Jackson County in the Michigan Economic Development Corporation "83 Voices" series. The series highlights an individual with a compelling story in all 83 of Michigan’s counties.

Bright Walls has continued to make a positive impact on Jackson and it's getting state and national attention. But, it would not have been possible without the great support from our community members and beyond.

Check out the article, and other Michigan counties stories, here: https://www.michiganbusiness.org/voices/clay-mcandrews-of-bright-walls/

10/13/2023

LIVE NOW ON PBS! 📺 Catch Bright Walls on Under The Radar Michigan!

We are so happy to share the Bright Walls story and hope you’ll tune in to catch us and our friends at Ogma Brewing Co. and RJs Metropolitan Ice Cream Co.!

There’s so much to enjoy in ! We hope you will be inspired to Experience Jackson!

❤️💙💛

P.S. If you’re missing this year we encourage you to head downtown and support our friends at Emerging Technology in Art Festival Jackson this Saturday!

10/10/2023

Under the Radar...but not for long! 🔍

Bright Walls will be featured on PBS' "Under The Radar Michigan" along with our friends at Ogma Brewing Co. and RJs Metropolitan Ice Cream Co.!

The “Jackson Adventure” begins airing on Detroit PBS in Southeast Michigan on Thursday, October 12 at 8:30 p.m. It also premieres at that same time on WGVU in Grand Rapids.

Mark you calendars and tune in to this BRIGHT feature about !

09/04/2023

This time last year the Bright Walls Team was all-in on preparing for our final festival. 🎨👩‍🎨

We want to know, what was YOUR favorite thing about Bright Walls or which is your favorite mural?!

Long after the festival has finished the murals remain! Get to to see them all!

Wow! The past 5 years have been full of amazing murals and fun memories. We have a total of 75 murals from artists across the globe, right here in our city. ...