Letter to the Editor

LETTER: Mural Project committee grateful for community support

Thursday, November 3, 2022

To the Editor:

As members of the Putnam County Mural Project, we wanted to extend our sincere thanks and gratitude to the community for your support of the Putnam County Mural Festival, which concluded on Sept. 24.

Thank you, first, to our donors, who made this festival possible. Your funds supported our artists, as well as local painters, musicians, restaurants, hardware stores and more. Nearly 50 percent of our funds raised were matched by the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority through its CreatINg Places project, and much of that money directly supported Putnam County businesses.

There are too many donors to list here, but know that we appreciate you all — whether you provided a financial gift or in-kind support.

Next, thank you to Greencastle Mayor Bill Dory, Roachdale Town Manager Holly Cook and the owners of the walls that were painted for their encouragement and support, as well as their assistance and patience with items like permitting and easements.

We are also grateful to everyone who interacted with and welcomed our six artists for extended stays in Greencastle, Fillmore and Roachdale, especially the schoolchildren who visited and participated in the mural-making process.

Finally, we’d like to thank Eric Freeman, the director of the Putnam County Convention and Visitors Bureau. It was Eric’s original vision to create something artistically powerful to serve as a welcome to Putnam County that brought all of us together — an all-volunteer team of arts, education, tourism, business and nonprofit professionals.

We sought to create something that honored Putnam County’s rich artistic history with the silo project in 2019, and this year’s festival builds upon that legacy. We believe that mural art has the ability to transform communities by celebrating heritage, creating civic pride and enriching lives through participatory art making.

We hope you enjoy the spaces that have been created with you and for you. As artist Alexander Isakov recently said while touring the Banner Graphic space with some DePauw art students, “It’s for you. I hope you like it.”

For more information about the festival and the artists, as well as future announcements, follow @putnamcountymuralproject on Facebook and Instagram or visit putnamcountymuralproject.org. Want to be involved in planning a future festival? Have a wall you’d like us to consider for a future project? Email us at putnamcountymuralproject@gmail.com.

Sincerely,
Alexandra Chamberlain, Chris Flegal, Kate Knaul, Kenzie Mace, Kristen Fuhs Wells