Curtis Glover Receives 2025 Individual Artist Fellowship for Mural Arts
By Krishna Adams, Director of Visual Arts, Craft, Media, and Design –
Knoxville muralist Curtis Glover has been awarded a 2025 Individual Artist Fellowship in Mural Arts from the Tennessee Arts Commission, an award recognizing his professional achievement and impact on the state’s cultural vitality. This prestigious award supports Tennessee artists whose work contributes significantly to the arts in their communities and beyond.
Glover, a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Asheville, earned a Bachelor of Arts in mass communication with a minor in Multimedia Arts and Sciences. After several jobs in the creative field, he started Curtis Glover Creative in 2012. Four years later, he shifted to full-time mural work in 2016. He has established himself as a prominent figure in Tennessee’s public art scene, completing projects across Tennessee and in Florida, Costa Rica and Canada. His murals, ranging from commercial commissions to large-scale public installations, demonstrate a strong command of color, narrative, and community engagement.
Glover is self-taught, learning through trial and error.
“I didn’t go to art school to become a muralist,” he said. “I always had this ability but didn’t know how to turn it into a sustainable business model until public art became more popular.”
He said his father’s death was a pivotal moment. “He passed too soon and that made me realize nothing in life is guaranteed so I decided to go for it.”
Two of his Knoxville murals highlight his diverse approach. One at Green Magnet Academy depicts the school’s STEAM — science, technology, engineering, arts and math — curriculum. It features a space shuttle, circuitry and binary code swirling around a plant held between two hands.
“Finishing a mural is like leaving a part of yourself out there in public,” he said. “People I’ll never meet get to see my work. Whether it’s locals seeing it frequently or people traveling through, I feel as though I’ve made an impact. That’s powerful.”
Another mural, for KnoxWalls and Dogwood Arts, is a personal tribute. It features a cardinal representing his late father and a bluebird symbolizing the women in his life.
“This one was particularly meaningful,” Glover said. “It’s a visual story that honors the loves in my life.”
Glover’s favorite project is a 5,000-square-foot mural on a corrugated metal tank on the South Knoxville riverfront.
“That project was one of the most technically challenging,” he recalled. “The surface was curved and uneven, but it turned out beautifully.”
The mural, visible from downtown across the Tennessee River, features sunflowers, wildlife and scenes of outdoor recreation. “That visibility, and the way it represents the lifestyle of that area, made it really special to me,” he said.
He encourages aspiring muralists to connect with their local arts community.
“You can learn everything you need by doing the work,” Glover said. “It’s not just about painting, it’s about listening, planning, adapting and being part of something larger. … Life is short so you might as well leave your mark. Take the risk.”
Glover plans to use the fellowship funds for equipment rentals, art supplies and preparations for his first gallery exhibition with Dogwood Arts in April 2026. He also plans to fund a donated mural in downtown Knoxville this fall.
Glover recently completed a 50-foot-tall mural for a student housing complex and is preparing to paint murals for a hair salon and a law office in Knoxville. Later this summer, he will participate in the Flint Public Art Project in Michigan. His work will also be featured in a virtual exhibition hosted by the Tennessee Arts Commission from Dec. 5, 2025, to Jan. 23, 2026.
His other honors include a 2023 National Endowment for the Arts grant, a 2023 Orchid Award for his work on the Maker Exchange building in Knoxville, Maker City Summit Guest Speaker (2022), and being named the featured artist for the University of Tennessee, Knoxville’s “Everywhere You Look” campaign in 2021, Dogwood Arts Chalk Walk – People’s Choice Winner and T-Shirt Design Winner (2019), and Paint Memphis Muralist (2017–2023) among others.
His work has been featured in Cityview Magazine, Inside of Knoxville, Knox News, and Monroe Life, and he was recently profiled in a YouTube documentary on the impact of local artists. Follow Glover on Instagram and Facebook.
