Downtown Syracuse will soon have a new look with breathtaking art highlighting some of Syracuse's greats.

What You Need To Know

  • A downtown mural project is being led by Syracuse Jazzfest Director Frank Malfitano, who said plans for the first mural are underway

  • The first mural on East Onondaga Street will feature four iconic basketball stars from the Syracuse area

  • The mural work will be done by Jonas Never, who is known worldwide for his murals

Plans for a downtown mural project have been announced by Syracuse JazzFest Director Frank Malfitano. He said without the Jazzfest, he was ready to take on the exciting project.

The building located at 333 East Onondaga Street will be the first building where you'll find a six-story mural that will feature a collage of Syracuse notables later this summer.

Malfitano said world-renowned artist Jonas Never was hired to do the work.

The first Syracuse mural will feature basketball notables Earl Lloyd, Breanna Stewart, Dolph Schayes, and Manny Breland, who have all made a significant impact in Syracuse and beyond.

​Malfitano said Never's work is on buildings all over the world and in the U.S., some of his work ranges from murals of Kobe Bryant to Tom Petty. He said the Syracuse project, which is being paid for by fundraising, has some great potential to revitalize the city.

"Fortunately, the building owners came on board, they love the project. They understand its significance.  And, you know this is a first-of-a-kind and one-of-a-kind for Syracuse. It's not new around the rest of the world; these murals have been around for 20 or 30 years. But, I thought, we can do that in Syracuse, and we've got the kind of history that we really need to tout," Malfitano said.

Malfitano said Never was recently named one of the top 10 sports muralists in the world by the BBC.

He said work on the first mural is expected to being in July and completed by late summer. There are more buildings and designs in the works, but noted it's important to get the first one off the ground.

Fundraising is off to a good start, but he said more is needed.

If you'd like more information on how to make a donation to the mural project, call Frank at (315) 635-8045. You can also email Info@SyracuseJazzfest.com.