CHARLOTTE, N.C. —  The neighborhood MyLoan Dinh grew up in is now becoming her canvas, and a pop of color is what you’ll find if you visit the intersection of Monroe Road and Chippendale Drive in Charlotte. 

What You Need To Know 

The Monroe Road Advocates reached out to artist MyLoan Dinh last year to create sidewalk murals

There's a total of three murals that will be located at different intersections along Monroe Road  

Dinh is working with Charlotte artist Bunny Gregory to design and complete these murals 

“It’s just fun to paint on such a large scale,” she said. 

Dinh’s family left Vietnam and moved to Charlotte’s Eastside back in 1976, and it was there where she discovered her love of art. 

“When we first came to the United States, my mom had to work immediately and … I had separation anxiety from her,” she said. “She took me to the daycare, and I just cried and cried and cried, and then they showed me the craft room, and I was like, 'bye mom.'” 

She’s been all around the world working as an artist, and when the Monroe Road Area Advocates reached out and asked her to create public art in her neighborhood, she couldn’t pass on that opportunity. 

Dinh has been tasked with creating four murals on sidewalks throughout Monroe Road. 

But a project this big requires some help, so she called in artist Bunny Gregory for assistance. 

“I want them to get that this is our community,” said Gregory. “This is everything. This is us.” 

Gregory also grew up on Charlotte’s Eastside, and knows just how important art is for this community. 

“I would see all these beautiful things coming up in nicer neighborhoods, but not in our neighborhood, and now it’s all over Charlotte, and I appreciate the change,” she said. 

These pieces will ultimately reflect the cultural backgrounds of this diverse neighborhood, so that hopefully more people will slow down and check out the beauty of this ever-growing neighborhood.

Over the next several weeks Dinh and Gregory have been moving along Monroe Road to finish creating the rest of the murals. 

You can learn more about this project here.