The mural program is designed to encourage high-quality visual art to enhance Uptown’s visual appeal, according to Kate Bostdorff, the city’s spokeswoman.
“The Centerville-Washington Park District approached the city about partnering to activate the space,” Bostdorff said. “It’s a big, blank, yellow wall right now with nothing in front of it. The city hopes to make the wall vibrant and inviting, and the Park District plans to add landscaping and seating to the area in front of it.”
The Centerville mural program’s goals include:
- To showcase the creativity and vision of artists through high-quality mural designs;
- To present a diversity of artistic styles and perspectives throughout the city;
- To increase the visibility of the arts in the city;
- To give jobs to local working artists;
- To attract more residents, visitors and businesses to the Centerville area.
The city has one other installation — the geometric elk on the south side of Square One Salon & Spa, a mural that was painted by Jennifer Sayger in 2021.
The new mural behind Marion’s Piazza will cover a 140-foot long, 15-foot high wall, according to a diagram supplied with other “call to artists” specifications.
“Our goal is to do one mural a year,” Bostdorff said. “We don’t have a specific number in mind for the program as a whole, but I would imagine the final number will be somewhere between four and eight murals.”
The submission deadline is 10 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 11, by email to Bostdorff at kbostdorff@centervilleohio.gov. For more information, visit www.tinyurl.com/mural-2022.
Depending on the selected artist’s availability, the city’s hope is that they will start in late September or October, Bostdorff said. The work should take about a month, weather depending.
The Centerpieces Mural Program is a partnership between the Centerville Arts Commission and the Centerville Community Improvement Corporation, she said.
The CCIC pays for the program with staffing and committee support from the commission, Bostdorff said. The CCIC has also received support from the Centerville-Washington Foundation and the Ohio Arts Council.
“The CCIC is a 501c4 organization, which the city supports to further the community’s economic development strategies,” she said. “The CCIC also generates proceeds from land transactions and can secure other grant funding.”
About the Author
