Des Moines Must Be the Place
Hand-lettering artist, Anna Frederick, provides insight on the creative vision behind her popular “This Must Be the Place” mural downtown, as well as how it contributes to the personality of Des Moines.
Two years ago over Memorial Day weekend, 34-year-old Des Moines hand-lettering artist, Anna Frederick, created her “This Must Be the Place” mural that has become a staple of downtown Des Moines. Using ladders and lifts, Frederick spent her weekend making sure everything was just right. In hindsight, Frederick claims it wasn’t the best idea to work downtown on a Saturday night: “[I] don’t recommend doing that because drunk people will try to help you, and they’re not real helpful.” Today, many people pass by her mural, but most people don’t stop to ponder the creative vision behind it. The Pedestrian staff got the chance to sit and chat with Frederick about the inspiration behind her mural and the purpose she believes it serves in the Des Moines community.
You’ve been doing hand-lettering for around five years now. What keeps you inspired as an artist?
Frederick: Everything, really. Truly though, I’d say foremost, I love traveling, and I get a real creative charge from changing my environment as often as I can. Old packaging, old signage, the lettering of years past is just a treasure. It’s interesting how much things change but still stay the same, so things that worked 100, 150 years ago, still work today.
What inspired your creative vision for your “This Must Be the Place” mural downtown?
Frederick: Knowing that it was going to be at ground level, I knew just from being the Instagram junkie that I am that people love photo backdrops, so I was trying to come up with something that would not only be visually appealing as you’re driving by but something that would really draw people into it and kind of make it a part of their universe for a moment. I had a whole long list of different phrases that I contemplated using, but that one really just kind of rang out louder than the others, I think because you can interpret it any number of ways. This must be the place for what? It depends on who you are, and I’ve seen so many photos in front of it … It exactly accomplished what I had hoped for and then some … It was funny when I had to take some people’s photo in front of it. I didn’t tell them that I had painted it.
People are drawn to works of art, like your mural, because they add to the overall personality of Des Moines, and they want to be a part of it. How would you describe the personality of Des Moines?
Frederick: It’s so interesting. I’ve been here for a long time, so I’ve seen how it’s evolved over the years. There’s this undercurrent of all of the possibility that lies ahead. I think that there’s a huge creative community here that makes a lot of that possible. I’m really thankful to be a part of that.
How do you think your mural contributes to the overall personality of Des Moines?
Frederick: I think it’s an excellent wrapper for the personality of the city. It’s a physical manifest, I think, of the creativity and excitement and city pride that people have here. Des Moines is a special place, and I like to think that my mural is a good illustration of that.
