By BOB MARTIN
Eagle Times Staff
NEWPORT, N.H. — As part of an ongoing effort to beautify the downtown Newport area, the Library Arts Center has put out a call for artists to create murals in “Korn Alley” depicting what the town has to offer.
According to Executive Director Kate Luppold, this is part of a five-year plan and a partnership with the Greater Newport Chamber of Commerce to bring “sizable public art to Main Street in the historic district.” A goal of 14 murals will be created this winter, with some involving multiple artists, and they will be installed in the spring. Korn Alley is located between the WCNL Radio Station and the Bar Harbor Bank block.
There will be a celebration in June at a date to be named later, where an official unveiling of the murals will take place.
“We started with the ‘Welcome to Newport’ mural and this is our second addition,” she explained. “We will have other things coming in the next year. We’re really excited that we could do it at such a large scale in the second year. I think it will help build momentum, and at the end of five years we will have a sizable amount of community-made public art in downtown Newport.”
Luppold said the idea is to make a concerted effort as a community to bring art to the downtown region to not only beautify it, but also promote economic development and community pride.
The call for artists is running until Jan. 15, and applicants from New Hampshire and Vermont are asked to select their top three choices of mural themes from a list including Newport events like Wings and Wheels, iconic locations like the Opera House, and activities that the region offers like fishing, hunting, camping and more.
“The themes were crowd sourced over the last year at different public events, so we could get a broad sense of what people of Newport consider why they love this area and why this is home,” she said. “It’s a nice cross section of different people on what makes Newport special to them.”
Applicants will fill out the online or paper application and prepare a concept sketch of what will be in the mural. The application also includes a statement of why the artist wants to take part in the project. A mural selection committee will then review the applications submitted.
A key aspect is that the call for artists is not only for professionals, but for artists of all calibers. She said they are not trying to just highlight professionals or focus only one artist.
“All our exhibits are like this, where we will have professional artists and also first-time exhibitors side by side,” Luppold said. “It is trying to foster a community that is accessible to be an artist, and we’re fostering in a sense of building each other up, working together, and respecting everybody’s talent.”
Artists who are accepted will be notified by Jan. 24 and panels will be ready for pickup on Feb. 8 when there will be an artist retreat and kick-off event at the studio. At this event, artists will be able to meet each other, pick up supplies and get basic instructions from the lead artist, Heidi Lorenz, to start the murals.
The retreat is not required but gives artists a chance to get a head start on the mural, and also gain camaraderie with the other artists. There will be projectors available so artists can transfer smaller drawings onto their mural board, and Lorenz will be available to answer questions or offer insight and guidance.
“We will all get together for a meet and greet, and they’ll get their supplies and head off to their home studios, or kitchen tables or wherever they will work, and paint from home,” Luppold said. “Heidi will be checking in with them along the way to make sure things are progressing.”
The finished panels will be returned to the Library Arts Center by March 31, where they will be professionally coated with a UV Ray protectant sealant that makes them ready for the outdoors. The unveiling event in June will be a block party style event, complete with live music and fun activities for the residents of Newport to enjoy.
Luppold said they have already received applications, and she expects more to come after the holidays.
Interested artists can apply online at https://libraryartscenter.org/korn-alley-mural-project/, where there is also information about the project that includes mural themes.
