The walls at (clockwise from top left) Furniture Awarehouse, The Warehouse, Reelsville Community Center, Cloverdale Water Building, Criss Construction, Russellville Community Center and Video Tan in Bainbridge will all receive facelifts during the upcoming Putnam County Mural Festival, set Sept. 7-21. Courtesy photos
Once again, Putnam County will be welcoming artists from across the country to install murals around the county as part of the 2024 Putnam County Mural Festival, which will be held Sept. 7-21.
Eight artists will bring murals to life on seven walls in the communities of Bainbridge, Cloverdale, Greencastle, Reelsville and Russellville.
On Sept. 21, a community block party will be held at two locations in Greencastle to celebrate the conclusion of the festival. The events will be free and open to the public and include family-friendly activities from 3-4:30 p.m. at Micaela Cancilla Park and Maple Berry Park and a block party featuring live music on Indiana Street in downtown Greencastle from 6-8 p.m.
On Sept. 14, Bainbridge will also be hosting its bicentennial celebration.
Artists and wall locations include:
Greencastle
• Criss Construction, 709 Maple Ave. (Artist: Emily Eldridge)
• Furniture Awarehouse, 804 N. Jackson St. (Artist: Noe Barnett)
• The Warehouse, 114 N. Indiana St. (Artists: Matt Rees, Holly Sims)
Cloverdale
• Cloverdale Elementary School, E. County Road 100 South, (Artist: Brooke Smart)
Bainbridge
• Main and Washington, 101 W. Main St., Bainbridge (Artist: Anthony Brooks)
Russellville
• Russellville Community Center, 300 N. Harrison St. (Artist: Angie Jerez)
Reelsville
• Reelsville Community Center, 7840 S. CR 625 West (Artist: Naomi Haverland)
The walls are beginning to be painted and primed, and some of the artists will begin on Sept. 7, while others will start a few days later.
Since 2019, the Putnam County Mural Project has been creating world-class works of art throughout Putnam County, including one of Indiana’s largest murals located on four grain silos at the intersection of U.S. 231 and Veterans Memorial Highway in Greencastle.
This festival will be the group’s second mural fest, with the first having been in 2022. The group has commissioned nine murals to date.
A significant amount of funding for this year’s festival was secured through grants, in addition to nearly $60,000 that was raised from the Putnam County community.
“We are thrilled that the community is as excited about adding new murals as we are,” said Kate Knaul, one of the members of Putnam County Mural Project. “Without the individual donations and corporate support, these installations would not be possible. We are also grateful for all of the community members who served on the artist review panels and the historical review committees — none of these murals are conceptualized without significant community input.”
The project is supported in part by the Indiana Economic Development Corp. through the READI 180 Alliance 180 in Color program, and the Allen Whitehill Clowes Charitable Foundation through the Indy Arts Council. Activities are also made possible in part by the Indiana Arts Commission, a state agency, and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.
The City of Greencastle is serving as the administrator of the grants and looks forward to seeing these vibrant additions to the community.
The Putnam County Mural Project is an initiative of the Friends of the Park of Putnam County, an exempt, 501(c)(3) organization that supports outdoor recreation and nature-related projects in Putnam County.
The Putnam County Mural Project seeks to enrich lives by engaging the community in participatory mural projects that activate spaces, build artistic capacity and celebrate who we are. Committee members include Alexandra Chamberlain, Chris Flegal, Kate Knaul and Kristen Fuhs Wells.
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