CFMC Hosts Mural Tour for Martinsville Stakeholders in Putnam County
On Tuesday, September 26th, CFMC hosted several community leaders and stakeholders for a road trip tour of mural art projects in Putnam County. This visit was scheduled in response to the ongoing Martinsville Capstone Stakeholders meetings hosted by The City of Martinsville. This group was formed after a class of recent IU graduate students studied, conducted focus groups, and provided a multi-page report on opportunities for improvement in the city of Martinsville. The capstone stakeholders’ group was created as a “next step” in the process.
One focus area from the capstone report was public art. As community leaders and The City of Martinsville look to elevate our community, conversations have occurred to create and implement public art around Martinsville. While there are many facets to Public Art, one solution is Public Murals.
CFMC specializes in relationships on a regional level and knew that we could host a full-day tour in partnership with our friends at the Putnam County Community Foundation (PCCF). PCCF has facilitated multiple public art murals around their county in conjunction with their Putnam County Mural Project team.
We were fortunate to be led through the tour by Kate Knaul, Putnam County Mural Project, and Neysa Meyer, Putnam County Community Foundation. We learned how another community created public mural art in conjunction with an arts council, town council members, and a dedicated team called the Putnam County Mural Project. We also gathered insight into how the Putnam County Mural Project fundraises and how they engage community members in the process.
We look forward to the future of art development in Martinsville and utilizing best practices to implement these efforts. Statistically, public art is beneficial for improving community image and residents’ pride in where they live and raise their families, and it also brings tourism opportunities. Jamie Taylor reflects on the tour and states, “As a co-client with the city in the Capstone project, we were excited to see the students’ recommendations in the areas of amenities, economic development, public image, and public art. We quickly realized that public art done well is also a significant asset in the other three areas being studied. Public art is not in the Chamber’s wheelhouse, so we appreciated the Community Foundation helping to connect the dots and hosting such a fun and productive day in Putnam County. Thank you to Katie and Neysa for being so welcoming and for sharing so many valuable dos and don’ts.”
Thank you again to the Putnam County Community Foundation and the Putnam County Mural Project!
