Highland to feature new mural design that will ‘exemplify the city’s tagline’
The Highland Arts Council and the city are partnering with a St. Louis artist to create a new mural on the side of the Weinheimer Community Center — but the community will not get to see it quite yet.
Mark Rosen, director of parks and recreation, said when the arts council approached him about the mural, he felt it would be a continuation of bringing the arts to downtown.
“I knew that they would find an artist that would pay homage to the city while respecting the history of the Weinheimer,” Rosen said. “This design will exemplify the city’s tagline: ‘Be mindful of the past, celebrate today with an eye to the future.’”
Lynnette Schuepbach, Highland Arts Council director, said the idea began with the Art Walk, a self-guided tour of Highland to see artwork commissioned by or donated to the city, schools and businesses in 16 locations, which includes several murals. She said the arts council wanted to continue building on the Art Walk by adding more murals to city buildings.
At the same time, the National Endowment for the Arts reached out to the Highland Arts Council to invite them to participate in a non-competitive matching grant program.
“We were honored, surprised and thrilled that they considered us enough to call,” Schuepbach said. “We told them of our plan and they said it would fit the scope of the grant.”
The artist chosen was Robert Fishbone of On the Wall Productions in St. Louis, who selected the Weinheimer wall as the best choice out of about 15 locations. The city council and parks and recreation department agreed, but Schuepbach said they ran into another snag: The Weinheimer building is more than 50 years old, which required a proposal to the Illinois State Historic Preservation Office.
The $10,000 NEA grant required matching funds, for which the Highland Arts Council is selling landscaping bricks for the site, in addition to other fundraising. Korte & Luitjohan Construction offered a scissors lift to assign with the project, and Highland Parks and Recreation is managing the landscaping.
Once all the appropriate agencies had signed off, Fishbone and his daughter, Liza, completed a design, but it’s not being made public yet.
“We are not showing the design just yet because it is artwork, and artwork is a process,” Schuepbach said. “We don’t want to show it and then have minor changes as the work continues.”
‘A new mural’
Also, Schuepbach said Fishbone prefers the “element of surprise.”
“(It) will encourage people to come by and watch the progress, not knowing what the finished piece really is,” she said.
Instead, Fishbone started by painting “A new mural” in big letters on the wall before beginning to prepare the surface.
Fishbone will be working on the mural during the Street Art Festival on Friday, Sept. 17, and Saturday, Sept. 18, and Schuepbach said she hopes it will be completed by Art in the Park, scheduled for Friday, Oct. 8, through Sunday, Oct. 10.