Enjoy the music history of Seymour with a view of a mural dedicated to hometown rock star John Mellencamp, located downtown on the outside of This Old Guitar Music Store at 106 W. Second St.
Tribune file photo
A mural is painted on the side of the Edward Jones building in downtown Seymour.
Tribune file photo
A mural on the side of the Artistic Impressions building in downtown Seymour is a dedication to the city’s local businesses of today and yesteryear.
Tribune file photo
Seymour will welcome a new mural in the downtown area in the coming weeks thanks to a grant from the Indiana Arts Commission.
On Thursday, the commission announced it has awarded $3,400 to the Seymour Parks and Recreation Department through the Arts Project Support grant program.
During its June 9 quarterly business meeting, the commission approved funding recommendations for the Arts Project Support and Arts Organization Support grant programs.
More than 480 applications were reviewed by 146 panelists from around the state and country with expertise in the arts, community development and nonprofit management.
“The projects and organizations selected to receive funding are strengthening our state,” said Anne Penny Valentine, chairwoman of the Indiana Arts Commission. “The commission is excited and honored to invest in Hoosier communities, supporting organizations that are doing exceptional creative work to make Indiana a great place to live, work, play, study and stay.”
Seymour parks director Stacy Findley said the grant will pay for a mural to be painted on the east facing exterior wall of the Seymour Community Center, 107 S. Chestnut St., in downtown Seymour. The theme of the mural will be organic nature.
Seymour High School art teacher Laurie Martin has been commissioned to paint the mural. She has worked with parks and rec before on interactive murals at Shields and Gaiser parks. Martin has requested her payment for the mural be donated to the SHS Art Club to benefit her students.
Alan Dunham will repair and paint the wall next week to prepare it for Martin to get started. Dunham also did the site prep work for the John Mellencamp mural in downtown Seymour.
“We are so fortunate the Indiana Arts Commission has selected our project to receive this grant,” Findley said. “Murals and public art are so important to the vitality and creative spirit of our community.”
Seymour is home to several murals that attract visitors to the area.
“We know projects like this bring attention to communities by drawing people to see them,” Findley said. “It also gives residents a sense of pride in their community.”
Findley thanked Seymour Mayor Matt Nicholson, the parks board, Indiana Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch and the Indiana General Assembly for their support of projects that add beauty and interest to communities through art.
Other local organizations receiving grant funding from the commission include Jackson County Community Theatre, Happy Tree Art Studio (Crothersville Community Schools) and Actors Community Theatre of Seymour.
Funding for the Indiana Arts Commission and its programs is provided by the Indiana General Assembly and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.
“Art and creativity strengthen the fabric of Indiana’s communities. They promote connection and cohesion, foster the entrepreneurial spirit communities need to thrive and create the kinds of communities where people want to live,” said Miah Michaelsen, executive director of the Indiana Arts Commission. “In every corner of our state, public funding for arts and creativity continually proves to be a high-return investment that improves the quality of life of Hoosiers and drives economic development within our state.”