A Bangor nonprofit created to beautify the city with public art has planned a second mural for Hammond Street.
Bangor Beautiful has commissioned Jared Goulette, a professional spray paint mural artist known as “The Color Wizard,” to create a two-story mural on the side of 116 Hammond St., across from the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office.
The mural, which is funded by grants, sponsorships and donations, will show the Maine forest floor in spring, including a vernal pool and native flora and fauna, such as fiddleheads, according to the organization.
The two-story mural is the second piece of public art that Bangor Beautiful has announced will be coming to Hammond Street. It’s slated to be completed in July, according to the organization.
In mid-March, Bangor Beautiful said it would partner with Wabanaki Public Health and Wellness to create a ground mural on the road shoulder of Hammond Street that will also feature native animals and crops, among other images.
Both murals are designed to naturally calm traffic and increase pedestrian safety, as drivers slow down to look at the art and their eyes are drawn to pedestrian areas, such as sidewalks and crosswalks. The murals are coming during a year when the city is on pace to exceed last year’s number of pedestrian-vehicle crashes.
When the two-story mural is complete, Bangor Beautiful will hold a community celebration and artist talk, the nonprofit said. The organization will also host an educational nature walk along the nearby Kenduskeag Stream Trail to teach participants about the local ecosystem depicted in the mural.