PRINCETON, WV (WOAY) – A town comes together to support the local art scene with a community mural.
More than 20 people met up to help paint a new mural in downtown Princeton. The artwork was designed by professional artist Ellen Elmes. It’s called Memories on Mercer Street. It’s purpose is to show off the unique history of Princeton’s historic downtown district.
“A design that not only looks at what Mercer Street has been about and is today in terms of business, but also how people enjoy it and interact, and it has a community feeling to it,” Elmes said.”
The entire community was invited out to help paint. To help keep things on track, Lacey Vilandry, a local artist with the RiffRaff Arts Collective, helped lead the charge.
The mural was predesigned and outlined in 18 different sections to make a community painting session more feasible. All the artists had to do was keep inside the lines.
“It’s printed on large pieces of fabric and it essentially becomes a giant paint by number, so that anyone in the community can participate,” RiffRaff Arts Collective Director Lori McKinney said.
The painting session took place at the Appalachian Coffee House on Mercer Street. But the mural is still far from complete. Over the next few weeks, professional artists will work on finishing the project.
The mural will eventually stand at 12 feet in height and will be 36 feet wide. The finished product will end up going to the Kidz at Heart Daycare Center in the city’s historic district, and ideally will be installed by mid July.
The project was in partnership with the Holler Gallery and the RiffRaff Arts Collective, and it was funded by the West Virginia Division of Culture & History, the National Endowment for the Arts, and with approval from the West Virginia Commission on the Arts.
