The Chautauqua County Partnership for Economic Growth (CCPEG) is launching the PAINT CHQ initiative to help focus on the important role public art plays in placemaking and strengthening local communities. Coordinating the effort is A H Public Spaces Consulting, LLC, which has assisted with other community mural projects around the country, including the one pictured here in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Submitted photo

The Chautauqua County Partnership for Economic Growth, in collaboration with the Chautauqua County Department of Planning & Development, is pleased to announce a new public art initiative intended to highlight and bring new interest to local communities.

The PAINT CHQ mural program will focus on holding a countywide festival later this year that involves the creation of large public murals in various Chautauqua County communities.

For 2025, the communities of Dunkirk, Falconer, Sherman, and Westfield will participate, with a PAINT CHQ Festival planned for the second week of September. As part of the initiative, Professional artists are being sought to create the artwork and are being asked to submit a Request for Qualifications by March 16. Full details, including a link to the RFQ form, can be found at ChooseCHQ.com/PaintCHQ.

To help coordinate and oversee PAINT CHQ, CCPEG will be working with A H Public Spaces Consulting, owned and operated by Alexandra Hall. Hall is an award-winning professional studio artist and muralist based in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Hall has worked on public art projects across the country, including Upstate New York. The consulting group will work with CCPEG to select artists, seek public input and feedback, hold community engagement workshops, and also develop and coordinate a PAINT CHQ Mural Apprentice Program.

“The goals of PAINT CHQ follow those of other art mural festivals around the country,” Hall explained. “They include highlighting community assets, embracing the value of public art investment, bringing visitors to participating communities, encouraging economic growth, building a foundation for more public art investment, and improving quality of place. It will also help in the effort to grow regional pride, while garnering significant attention and exposure nationally.”

Each PAINT CHQ mural will be installed simultaneously as part of the inaugural festival in the second week of September 2025, with events taking place throughout the county. According to Hall, the festival atmosphere will draw media attention and outside visitors, while inviting local residents to be part of the public art creation. The festival will culminate on the final day of the event, Sept. 13, when all the murals are complete and celebrated.

As part of the buildup to the PAINT CHQ Festival in September, steering committees are now being developed in each of this year’s participating communities, with a goal of developing a design brief to help the artists better understand what makes Chautauqua County unique and to ensure certain elements and themes are incorporated into the final mural design. PAINT CHQ Community Workshops are also scheduled at the following dates for each respective community:

– Tuesday, March 11 at 11 a.m. at the Cornerstone Restaurant, Sherman

– Tuesday, March 11 at 5 p.m. at SUNY Fredonia Center for Innovation and Economic Development, Dunkirk

– Wednesday, March 12 at 11 a.m. at the Patterson Library, Westfield

– Wednesday, March 12 at 5 p.m. at the Firemen’s Exempt Hall, Falconer

Anyone who wants to provide input, but is unable to attend the workshops, is encouraged to provide their thoughts by completing the PAINT CHQ Public Art Feedback Survey. As noted earlier, an RFQ has also been issued for the initiative, with local and regional artists strongly encouraged to apply. Local artists who are interested in learning more about how to install a mural anywhere in the County can also apply to participate in the PAINT CHQ Mural Apprentice Program.

“Artists are strongly encouraged to apply to participate in this project. Local artists who are interested in learning more about how to install a mural may also apply to participate in the apprentice program, which is meant to offer aspiring artists an opportunity to garner valuable experience installing large-scale murals,” Hall said. “This is an excellent resume builder for an aspiring muralist! Volunteer apprentices will be paired with experienced muralists and asked to help assist in the mural installation during the festival. Apprentices may learn how to scale a design to fit a building, learn about different mediums, and expand their artist-network.”

“While we don’t always think about art as an economic development driver, it certainly can be,” said Nate Aldrich, County Economic Development Coordinator and CCPEG Manager. “As our team tackles multiple economic development priorities, projects like these can also help to improve our communities and create a sense of place by providing unique offerings that are interesting and attractive, while also being interpretive. PAINT CHQ, in conjunction with our many other initiatives, contributes to making our Main Streets more attractive and inviting, while also building community pride.”

Initial funding for PAINT CHQ has been provided by CCPEG. Additional funding may come from grant applications, local foundation support, and corporate sponsorships.

“Our overall goal is to make this a successful event for not only this year’s participating communities, but for all of Chautauqua County,” Aldrich added. “This will help ensure the initiative will return each year with other participating communities, making PAINT CHQ an annually celebrated and anticipated event for all of the County’s residents, businesses, and visitors.”

More information about PAINT CHQ can be found at ChooseCHQ.com/PaintCHQ.

Now in its 37th year, South by Southwest, the annual arts and tech conference that runs March 7-15 in Austin, Texas, has no shortage of stellar Latin music acts on its roster.

On March 11, we at De Los will host our second annual SXSW showcase at Mala Fama. Arsenal Efectivo, Edgar Alejandro and Midnight Navy will star in the program, which you can find here.

In the meantime, below are 10 essential Latino performances we’ll be penciling into our schedule, listed in chronological order.

Vanessa Zamora
March 11 at Flamingo Cantina
10-10:40 p.m.

The daughter of Mexican pianists, bilingual indie darling Vanessa Zamora upped the ante by mastering the acoustic guitar, keyboard and drums to craft her own dreamy, psychedelic approach to pop music.

She will perform a second show March 14 at Vaquero Taquero from 10-10:40pm.

El Dusty
March 10 at Coconut Club
11-11:45 p.m.

Corpus Christi-based DJ and cumbia electronica pioneer El Dusty will be on the decks, melding soul, reggae and house with his homegrown Tejano groove.

He will perform a second SXSW showcase on Wednesday at Rivian Park from 3-3:40 p.m., as well as a third performance Thursday at Hotel Vegas from 12:40-1:20 a.m.

Trooko
March 11 at Coconut Club
12:45-2 a.m.

Grammy-winning Honduran producer Trooko has been credited on a number of acclaimed releases, including records by Beyoncé, M.I.A., Residente and Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “The Hamilton Mixtape.” Yet this year, Trooko will go back to his roots by spinning at La Subcultura’s epic club night.

Blood Club
March 12 at Elysium
8-8:40 p.m.

Hailing from the South Side of Chicago, the post-punk romantics will usher in the moonrise at SXSW on multiple nights. Their festival dates are a preview of their North American No Llores Tour, which will see the band passing through the U.S. and Mexico before landing at the Regent Theater in Los Angeles on May 18.

Their second official SXSW showcase will take place March 15 at Las Perlas from 10-10:40 p.m.

Gale
March 13 at the Moody Theater
7:45 p.m.-8:15 p.m.

The Latin Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Gale (pronounced “gah-leh”) packs a punch in her indie-tinged pop music. Lauded as the “Latin It Girl” by Rolling Stone, the Puerto Rican starlet will grace the stage at its “Future of Music” showcase.

Valé
March 13 at Cuatro Gato
8:20-9 p.m.

Si necesitas reggaetón: Valé. The Baranquilla native brings punk baddie energy to her perreo- and R&B-infused dance tracks like “Fit Mami” and the newer “Arrebatao.”

Twin Shadow
March 13 at Coconut Club
9:30-10:30 p.m.

The Dominican American synth-pop hero will tease new songs from his sixth studio album, “Georgie,” a tribute to his late father. After years of cutting up dance floors with guitar tracks like “Five Seconds” and “Saturdays” (with Haim!), “Georgie “ will be his first album sans drums. Get into it.

He will also perform a second show March 14 at Central Presbyterian Church from 10-11 p.m.

Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso
March 13 at the Moody Theater
9:35-10:20 p.m.

Quirky Argentine MCs Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso enjoyed a career breakthrough last year with their appearance on NPR’s “Tiny Desk” series, which became the No. 1 most-watched episode of 2024. “With ‘Tiny Desk,’ we feel that we hacked the system,” said Amoroso in an interview with De Los this week. At SXSW, they’ll serve an encore.

Oya Baby
March 13 at the Speakeasy Kabaret
10:50-11:05 p.m.

The audacious Cuban MC Oya Baby cut her teeth as a backup dancer for Pitbull, Bad Bunny and Flo Rida before she signed a record deal with the latter’s International Music Group label. She shared an electric collaboration with Miami hip-hop legend Trina in her 2022 single “Ride the Stick” and bounced back in January with a swaggering reggaeton single, “Perra.”

Ivan Cornejo
March 13 at the Moody Theater
10:55 p.m.–midnight

Música Mexicana’s prince of darkness will command the Moody Theater on Thursday night with releases from his outstanding 2024 LP “Mirada,” as well as his first hit, “Está Dañada,” which debuted on the Billboard 100 when he was just 17.

Do you have any plans for the month of March? Maybe some live music? A show? Maybe a date night with a friend or partner?

Here to help you plan your calendar for March is our First Friday Arts panel. This month, we’re joined by Pat Moran covering arts and local music for Queen City Nerve, also Jesse Boykin Kimmel covering local theater for Y’all Weekly, and Rubie Britt-Height, WFAE’s director of community engagement.

They spoke with WFAE’s Nick de la Canal.

Nick de la Canal: All right, Jesse, once again you are up first. What’s catching your eye for this month?

Jesse Boykin Kimmel: Hey! I’ve got a few things to talk about. This weekend only The Lotus Project, founded locally by J Stage Community Theatre veteran Susan Cherin and Kayla Piscatelli, will perform “Spring Awakening,” a 2006 musical based on the play of the same name from 1891.

“Spring Awakening” is about adolescent self-discovery and youth revolt in a world controlled by grown ups. The Lotus Project has added a content warning for themes of sexuality and does not recommend this show for audience members under the age of 15, but that is being produced at The Arts Factory at West End Studios.

Up Interstate 77 in my hometown of Davidson, the Davidson Community Players end their run of “The Minutes,” which is a dark comedy about an upstart town councilman who, after being away for just one town council meeting, returns to find that secrets are being kept from him, and the minutes from last week’s meeting are missing. What happened? Find out at Davidson Community Players at their theater on Armour Street. There are three more performances, including the one at 7:30 tonight.

Also — sorry I’ve got a list — Agatha Christie’s “Witness for the Prosecution” opens tonight at Lee St. Theatre in Salisbury, and later in March we have “Continuity” from Charlotte Conservatory Theatre on March 21. Theatre Charlotte opens the musical “Violet,” and Davidson Community Players in association with Charlotte’s Off-Broadway opens Charlotte original, “A Small and Humble Erasure.”

De la Canal: Love it. OK, Rubie, let’s move to you. I think you’re looking into some visual art and museum happenings?

Rubie Britt-Height: Absolutely. You know March is Women’s History Month, and so a lot of activities also are going on around women and celebrating them. So Art Pop Street Gallery is going to have a great art market this Saturday at Le Meridien Charlotte hotel. They’ll have 10 talented artists from wooden robot maker ZeroPopArt, Indigenous Catawba potter and basket maker Teresa Dunlap, and cultural fiber artist Linda Keene. So many others with various talents and gifts that they’re bringing.

Then later on in the month, we have at the Bechtler Museum of (Modern) Art, Queens March 2025. This is a showcase that celebrates the legacy of Black women in music and fashion. So you’ve got the visual, you’ve got the performing, you’ve got culinary arts with chefs that are going to be doing the dishes. This is a ticketed event, and it supports the IMAC Global Academy, with opportunities for those students over there who they mentor.

De la Canal: All right, Pat, you’re going to get the last word here, and I think you’ve got some live music events on your calendar.

Pat Moran: I do, I do. This is like getting a jump on spring. There’s sort of a spring theme going here. It’s Springadelia. It’s at Snug Harbor. It’s three nights, two stages, 24 performers, plus four visual artists that are doing light shows.

This is a psychedelic event — like psychedelic rock, but basically the music is all over the map. There’s Celeste Moonchild, who does kind of a neo-soul thing. There’s La Brava which is Lisa Ortiz. It’s a solo, electro-Latin act that she does.

Also, I mean there’s so many good national acts coming through. I had to pick one, and I picked these German techno nerds, Kraftwerk, and entire genres of music wouldn’t exist if it were not for these nerds from Germany. They had a huge hit with an album called “Computer World” in 1981. They were singing about home computers long before anyone had such a thing. That is March 17 and that’s at Bojangles (Coliseum.) It’s going to be an immersive multimedia show, and basically they were one of the first to do an immersive multimedia show.

The artwork of local Vietnamese American artist Stacy Nguyen is featured on new library cards for the King County Library System. 

“Dogs Camping was my third ‘dark horse’ and ‘non-serious’ concept offered up, and I was so amused and surprised it was picked and made it past the finish line!” she said.

Nguyen, also the former editor of the Northwest Asian Weekly, said KCLS expanded worlds and access for immigrant families like hers.

“The card is so meaningful to me because I love that my artwork can be held in someone’s hand. Art doesn’t just have to be on a wall and frame,” Nguyen said.

Also featured is the work of Stevie Shao, a Chinese American illustrator and muralist from Seattle. She draws inspiration from the plants and animals of the Pacific Northwest. 

Shao said she grew up participating in the summer reading programs, and in high school would kill time at the library reading magazines and looking for books. 

Shao champions environmental stewardship, racial justice, and preserving historic community roots.

Related

Calling all artists — now’s your chance to add a splash of color to Roseville’s soon-to-be-renovated Johnson Pool.The city is putting a call out for artists to submit designs that will be up for consideration as a new mural at the pool site.According to the city’s website, the mural will celebrate Roseville’s rich history with the railroad while embracing the spirit of community and recreation. The selected design must feature a railroad or train theme and prominently incorporate the Union Pacific Railroad logo, connecting Roseville’s deep-rooted railroad heritage with the joy and inclusivity that Johnson Pool represents.Project details are as follows:Location: Johnson Pool, 100 D Street, Roseville, CA 95661Type: MuralBudget: $10,000Eligibility: Open to local, regional and national artistsEntry Deadline: April 4, 2025According to city leaders, a selection committee will review all proposals and select an artist based on creativity, relevance to the theme and ability to complete the project within the timeline.Annie Stanco, cultural arts supervisor for the city of Roseville spoke with KCRA 3 about the selection process and design elements.Click the video in the player above to watch the interview.Stanco said interested artists should submit their proposals to her at adstanco@roseville.ca.us. The selected artist must complete the mural within the allocated budget of $10,000, which needs to cover all materials, labor and related expenses.For more information, visit this link on Roseville’s website.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel