SKOWHEGAN — Wesserunsett Arts Council (WesArts) has launched their open call for proposals for two Maine Bicentennial Murals offering $12,000 in commissions. The deadline for the call is June 15 and is open to Maine artists. A third part of this bicentennial project, already in the works through the WesArts Mural Committee, is an exterior installation of reproduced large-scale historic photographs onto the old Spinning Mill, now owned by Bigelow Brewing Company.
“We’re excited to be able to inject this kind of investment into our creative economy”, says project coordinator Saskia Reinholt. This project is funded by a grant from the Maine Arts Commission and a grant from the Maine Community Foundation.
The sites for the two murals will be the Hight building in the downtown parking concourse and the Skowhegan Saving Bank Records Building on Route 201 in downtown. The murals will celebrate Skowhegan’s rich history and may paint a positive vision for the future. The selected murals will help make the downtown welcoming. The Hight building mural will depict the history of the Skowhegan State Agricultural Fair. The Skowhegan Savings Bank Records building mural will depict other important milestones in Skowhegan history.
The intent of this Maine Bicentennial mural project is to increase the vibrancy of downtown Skowhegan. Public art is a catalyst for enhancing a sense of place, building community pride, and increasing tourism and economic development. This project also serves the Somerset County Cultural Plan, as 92 percent of the respondents to the plan’s survey agree that art, culture and recreation should be accessible and affordable to all.
The project plans to commission the two murals by July, to be completed and installed by the fall.
Wesserunsett Arts Council (WesArts) is a nonprofit organization and is Somerset County’s only regional arts council. Its mission is to cultivate creativity and harness cultural strength to celebrate Somerset’s story for residents and visitors. It uses art and culture as tools for community building, placemaking, and economic revitalization.
The full call for proposals can be viewed here. For more information or questions contact WesArts project coordinator, Saskia Reinholt, at wesartsinfo@gmail.com or call 207-218-2072.