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caption, page 5:
The MLK mural for Bloomfield. The design is determined by the survey of the local residents. Photo by CTMurals.
Public art
not taking
winter break
By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
The arts will be doing anything but hibernating this winter.
Artists of all types and members of the community will be working hard to make Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream a reality.
The MLK project, conceived by RiseUP for the Arts Group, in conjunction with CT Murals, awarded Putnam $7,500 to create a mural reflecting this community’s take on the heart of Martin Luther King’s message.
Elaine Turner, president of the Arts Guild Northeast, said Putnam’s application was accepted a few months ago. RiseUP will award $7,500 and it has to be matched locally.
Already, she said, $2,500 has been donated by bankHometown. The rest of the match will be raised from individuals. The Sustainable CT rules for that call for 50 to 75 individuals to make donations to hit that $7,500 match total.
Turner said the mural design will be very personal to the people here. Residents will be asked what Martin Luther King means to them. Unity? How to define civil rights? History? Prudence Crandall? Equality? Or?
Once the survey points toward a design, according to muralist Emida Roller, the community involvement will continue with “paint days” where community members come together, probably around November, to help paint the mural. “We want the community to be involved at every step,” Roller said. “I want people to come paint with me.” All levels of help will be welcome.
Roller said the mural is likely to be done in panels so that it can be taken down, moved, etc. They will be 8-feet by 4-feet and there will be 10 panels, she said.
The panels should be done before mid-January, Roller said. She will add the finishing touches and it will be ready to install around Martin Luther King’s birthday in February.
Planners are on the hunt for an involved building owner willing to have the panels installed on a very visible outside wall.
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