7-Eleven Kicks Off Mural Program to Connect With Its Neighborhoods
IRVING, Texas — 7-Eleven Inc. is making a colorful splash in neighborhoods across the country by commissioning local mural artists to bring the retailer's creative vision to life at select stores.
The convenience store chain has teamed up with The Ammersion Group, a creative agency based in Dallas, to identify acclaimed artists to create neighborhood-specific murals on the interior and exterior walls of both existing and new 7-Eleven stores.
The goal of the mural program is to capture each neighborhood's energy through inclusive on-site murals in order to bring connection and creativity to local communities, the retailer said. 7-Eleven launched the art project in its hometown of Dallas.
"We kicked off our mural program with a local artist at a new 7-Eleven Evolution Store, an experiential testing ground where we test new concepts, products and services before we scale them across the 7-Eleven system," said 7-Eleven Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Marissa Jarratt. "It's been a hit so far and I've seen my fair share of excited customers stop what they're doing to take Instagram-worthy photos in front of the larger-than-life mural. This positive customer behavior and feedback has encouraged us to expand the concept to more stores in 2021."
The company tapped painter and illustrator Mariell Guzman to capture the essence of the neighborhood. Guzman, who was born in Michoacán, Mexico, pulls from her Mexican heritage to create murals with a vibrant color palette and whimsical gaze. Guzman wanted to bring the rich heritage of her native homeland to the community where she works and creates, according to the company.
"Creating a mural for 7-Eleven in my very own neighborhood was a true honor and a privilege," Guzman said. "I'm very grateful to The Ammersion Group for believing in my work and connecting me with the 7-Eleven team to create a new landmark for the Lake Highlands community."
In east Dallas, two more mixed media murals have already been painted by portrait artist Brandon Adams at a Southside store on South Lamar and graffiti artist and local arts scene leader Tex Moton at a yet-to-open store on Park Lane and Abrams.
7-Eleven and The Ammersion Group collaborated on the project under the umbrella of "Artists Building Brands." The retailer directly engaged the north Texas arts community to bring communities together and plans to do the same in other cities.
More murals will appear at north Texas 7-Eleven locations throughout 2021. Both emerging and established artists will be invited to bring their artistic vision to their neighborhood stores.
Irving-based 7-Eleven operates, franchises and/or licenses more than 72,800 stores in 17 countries, including 12,000 in North America.