UPDATE: Sprocket Mural Works co-founder to speech moved to Inn at DePauw

Tuesday, April 9, 2019
Mural artist Megan Caruso, co-founder of Sprocket Mural Works.
Courtesy photo

EDITOR'S NOTE: Due to a late booking change, the talk by Megan Caruso will take place in the Emerson Room at the Inn at DePauw, not at the Putnam County Public Library, as was noted in Wednesday print edition and an earlier online version of this story.


Megan Caruso, co-founder of Harrisburg, Pa.-based Sprocket Mural Works, will speak Thursday, April 11 in the Inn at DePauw's Emerson Room, about how we are affected by our surroundings and the role the arts play in providing a shared narrative within communities.

Everyone interested in art, especially public art and quality of life, is invited to the free 7 p.m. presentation.

Caruso will be in town to consult on two public art projects being considered for Greencastle’s South End – a potential mural on the grain elevators on the northwest corner of Veterans Memorial Highway and U.S. 231, and 3D artwork on the southwest corner of Robe-Ann Park, around the intersection of U.S. 231 and Tennessee Street.

“We are greatly influenced by our surroundings and by the stories told about where we live, where we come from,” Caruso said. “Both directly impact how we see ourselves and live our lives. Murals can be a powerful tool to positively affect the way we walk through our environment on a visual and emotional level.”

Caruso will discuss how Sprocket originated, how it operates, its goals, and its role in redefining the Harrisburg community. A volunteer-run organization, Sprocket’s mission is to inspire civic pride, encourage community engagement and beautify Harrisburg through public murals.

A Putnam County group that formed in October will pursue two state grants to help fund the local projects, both intended to enhance local quality of life and quality of place by celebrating Putnam County culture in a permanent way, through art.

The group is first focusing on an Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority “Creating Places” grant for the mural and Robe-Ann Park public art. If successful, the group will pursue an Indiana Office of Tourism Development “Destination Development” grant as a second phase.

“The South End of Greencastle is the focus of this first effort because the approach will be a one-two punch,” said Chris Flegal, director of the United Way of Putnam County, who leads the public art subcommittee as a volunteer.

“The focus of the second grant will either be something iconic at the Exit 41 interchange, or a gateway from that interchange both south into Cloverdale and north into Greencastle. The plan is for these mural and Robe-Ann Park projects to become part of the larger gateway project,” he said.

Caruso’s visit includes a review of the two proposed Greencastle sites and work with the committee on budget/consulting aspects of the mural and public art. Since forming in 2014, Sprocket has painted and collaborated on 70 public art pieces in the Greater Harrisburg region, commissioned more than 50 artists, engaged more than 50 community organizations, and worked with more than 300 volunteers.

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