A year into Texas lawsuit, artist reflects on what her city has lost

October 23, 2024 | By KAY RAY-SMITH

Kay Ray-Smith co-owns Tilt Vision, a mural painting business in Texas, with her husband Brad. Last year they filed a lawsuit against the city for banning their murals. A year into the lawsuit, Kay reflects on how the city not only jeopardized the couple’s livelihood and infringed on their constitutional rights, but also deprived emerging artists of the chance to collaborate with them. 

Public art isn’t allowed in Waller, Texas. At least not according to a recently enacted city ordinance. My husband Brad and I run a mural painting business called Tilt Vision Art (Tilt for short). We designed the company to be a beacon of creative ingenuity, allowing our clients to express themselves and making fine art accessible to the public. In 2022, we moved our company to Waller with the hope of serving clients and assisting the city with art-based economic development. Our murals are known to elevate local businesses and attract tourists.  

We had already painted murals in depressed areas in Fort Worth and Burleson, earning letters of recommendation from those cities, who were thrilled that our murals attracted new businesses and gave neighborhoods new life. But after painting a few murals in Waller, the City council passed a blatantly unconstitutional ordinance banning our murals. The City’s attorney suggested the ordinance would allow City residents to avoid seeing art they don’t like. But the First Amendment protects artistic expression and isn’t so weak that it may be cast aside because some people don’t like the artistic expression. After Brad and I filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging the ordinance, the City quickly amended the law but has still kept heavy restrictions on murals that have made it impossible for us to find new clients. 

Brad and I have borne the brunt of the city’s restrictions, suffering substantial financial setbacks because of Waller’s restrictive policies. But our own financial well-being isn’t the only thing at stake. The ordinance stifles creative expression, denies valuable collaboration opportunities between artists, and silences the voices of citizens and business owners. Businesses like ours provide some of the very few opportunities that exist for artists to make a living. If we aren’t allowed to paint murals, then the artists we would have hired can’t work. And the public loses access to fine art, leaving that privilege to those with the means and ability to visit private art galleries and museums.  

The loss of public art also affects society. History resounds with poignant examples of the transformative power of mural art. During the Great Depression, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) harnessed the might of mural art to breathe life into the American spirit, offering hope, inspiration, and meaningful employment to artists across the nation. These murals not only adorned public spaces but also served as an enduring testament to the resilience and creativity of the American people. By embracing mural art instead of rejecting it, the government fostered a climate of artistic freedom, elevating communities and fortifying the nation’s cultural identity.  

For over 40 years, my husband Brad has built upon that cultural identity by painting murals in economically depressed neighborhoods across the country. Through this work and our experience with Tilt, we have demonstrated that mural art brings economic growth and new vitality to local communities. That’s why we’ve been welcomed with open arms everywhere we’ve worked. 

Waller ought to reconsider its restrictions on murals and instead promote creativity, collaboration, and economic growth within the artistic community.  With the support of the non-profit law firm Pacific Legal Foundation, which is representing us pro bono, we are challenging Waller’s mural restrictions on First Amendment grounds. This isn’t the first time Pacific Legal Foundation has brought a Texas city into court to answer for overbearing restrictions on free expression. Just a couple years ago, Houston was forced to abandon its restrictions on buskers after losing a First Amendment challenge in federal court.  

It shouldn’t take costly and time-consuming litigation to vindicate the constitutional rights of artists like Brad and me. At any time, Waller can revisit its approach to mural art, paving the way for businesses to prosper through art-based economic development and fostering an environment where creative energy is celebrated. I urge Waller to heed the call of history and empower our artistic community, our business leaders and our citizens. Instead of stamping out artistic expression, it should ignite the spirit of unity, creativity, and inspiration that mural art so beautifully encapsulates.