ThisWeek CW 01/29/2015
http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/canalwinchester/news/2015/01/26/partnership-will-bring-murals-to-historic-district.html
The Canal Winchester Art Guild is hoping to increase the city’s standing as an arts community through a new mural project that will be part of the annual Art Stroll.
Development Director Lucas Haire approached Canal Winchester City Council Jan. 5 with a plan for the city and business community to work with the Art Guild to install four, 6-foot by 8-foot fine-art murals on walls in the historic district.
“I’ve worked closely with the Art Guild and these will actually be a vinyl adhesive temporary mural, so they won’t cause any damage to the buildings,” Haire said. “The idea is that they’ll keep them up for a year and then put up new ones at the next Art Stroll event.”
The partnership with the city includes a request for a $1,000 grant specifically for the murals, expected to cost about $4,000 total, along with a $500 grant requested for the Art Stroll event itself. If approved by city council in February, the money would come from the bed tax grant funds that have not been awarded.
Haire said if enough money can be raised, members of the Art Guild will be able to submit their designs for a juried vote to decide four images that will be reproduced as murals.
“We are tremendously excited about the mural project and hope that we can help grow Canal Winchester as an art destination,” Art Guild President Linda Boving said last week.
“The murals will all be from our guild members, who are eligible to submit three pieces of art each to the contest. We’ve been submitting for various grants,” she added. “We’re hoping to get more community members involved in providing sponsorship money and donations, and we plan to have a plaque next to each mural explaining the art piece and noting the sponsors.”
Plans are to have the murals in place for this year’s Art Stroll, scheduled for Saturday, May 9. New murals will be chosen for the 2016 Art Stroll.
“A lot of public art projects that stay static just blend into the background over time, so this will keep peoples’ eyes on it,” Haire told council. “They currently have about $700 to $800 committed right now, and they’re doing fundraising to hopefully come up with the $4,000, so this would help get them there.”
Councilwoman Bobbie Mershon called the mural project “a terrific idea.”
Boving said anyone interested in donating to the mural project or in joining the Art Guild should call her at 614-561-7137.