Artists are being sought for a major mural project in Sharpsburg.
Artspiraton, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting Sharpsburg, Etna and Millvale through the arts, has put out a request for qualifications for a 240-square-foot art piece on the side of Conicella Family Dentistry, 701 Main St.
The project is through a partnership with Artspiration and the Sharpsburg Neighborhood Association, and partially funded via a Creative Communities Cultivation grant through the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts.
“The mural will be a beautiful entrance to the beginning of the business district on the Sixth Street side,” said Nanci Goldberg, Artspiration director and owner of Ketchup City Creative in Sharpsburg.
“‘Welcome to Sharpsburg’ will greet everyone as they enter that end of town; and hopefully residents will garner a sense of pride from it.”
The idea for the project came about a few years ago through discussions with Artspiration founder Nancy Goldberg and Dr. Bruno Conicella, a dentist in the borough for the past 36 years.
“It’s a great town and I want something that represents the town,” Conicella said. “When people drive through they don’t just keep driving. They realize this is a great town to be in and visit and live in. I want something nice up there.
“There is such a wide variety of nationalities and cultural everything. A wide variety of people, and they’re all great. They all help out each other whenever they are in need.”
The mural will incorporate themes of history, beautification, community and collaboration.
Residents will have an opportunity to give input once an artist is selected.
“The mural RFQ is the first step,” Goldberg explained. “After all of the applications are in, a few artists will be selected for interviews and paid to create a simple design sketch.
“Once a sketch is selected and an artist has been chosen, there will be community meetings to collect feedback and to speak with the artist.
“This process will ensure the community is part of the process and has some space for connection to the mural. So, the mural will begin in the mind of the artist and will be shaped by the community as well.”
Borough Manager Christine DeRunk said the project has full administrative and council support.
“The borough was thrilled to learn that Artspiration received funding for the mural as the location of the mural is a prominent one and will beautify the borough,” DeRunk said via email. “We also appreciate all the work that Nanci has done to bring more public art to the borough. We can’t wait to see the final design.”
Deadline for artist applications and photos of their completed murals are due April 30.
The selected artist will be paid $7,200 for the project, which is expected to be completed by mid-September.
“We’re paying a lot for that mural because we want to make it quality and (we) value art and artist’s time,” Goldberg said.
Norah Johnson, Pennsylvania Council of the Arts external affairs director, said Artspiration received a $6,250 grant. The grant requires a community match of either cash or in-kind services or both.
“These are projects that are really community built and community owned,” Johnson said. “In Sharpsburg, there seems to be a lot of community pride and interest in representing the community in terms of who lives there and the perspective and hope for the future. Public art is a great way of reflecting community identity and community pride and engaging community members. … We have projects all over the state, and it’s really wonderful that Sharpsburg got a cultivation grant. We’re very excited to see the completed mural and see the project evolve and expand.”
Goldberg said portions of the grant will be used to help support the mural as well as another art project at the James Sharp Landing.
More information about the mural is available at artspirationpgh.org/rfq-welcome-to-sharpsburg.
Artists can also email hello@artspirationpgh.org.
Michael DiVittorio is a TribLive reporter covering general news in Western Pennsylvania, with a penchant for festivals and food. He can be reached at mdivittorio@triblive.com.
