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Date: 9/6/2022
SPRINGFIELD – Dynamic portraits assembled by visionary artists and community members alike will be collaborated on during the return of the Fresh Paint Mural Festival. The artistic festival will take place from Sept. 10 to 18, with nine new murals set to be created for the Mason Square, North End and South End neighborhoods.
Common Wealth Murals Director Britt Ruhe shared that the Fresh Paint Mural Festival originated in 2019. Ruhe aspired to create an event that would connect the community and extend the city’s vibrant art history after experiencing similar gatherings in other areas.
“It really came about because I started traveling other cities to visit mural festivals and look at street art. I was blown away by the positive impact that a well-executed mural can have on a building, a neighborhood or a space … there was nothing like this happening in Western Mass.,” said Ruhe in an interview with Reminder Publishing.
Ruhe utilized her background in nonprofit management to conjure a supportive collation for the initiative. She reached out to Mayor Domenic Sarno and Chief Development Officer Timothy Sheehan – who both expressed support for the project’s goal.
The inaugural 2019 festival featured 10 created murals. After the gathering did not take place in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Mural Festival returned in 2021 with another 10 murals being completed. Ruhe stressed that both gatherings placed an emphasis on outreaching to the community.
“One of the themes that flows through all the festivals is trying to do this process while engaging the community,” said Ruhe.
Creating an impactful mural can often be a taxing endeavor. Ruhe estimates that a single mural can cost anywhere from $15,000 to $80,000 depending on the size and complexity of the design. In contrast, the Common Wealth Murals director said the festival helps the city create more affordable artwork.
“People love murals, but they can be really expensive. One of the ways to make murals more affordable for a city is to do a mural festival,” said Ruhe.
The Mural Festival approach also boasts additional appeal for artists. Ruhe shared that the festival setting often awards artists with more creative freedom, with the festival additionally working to create a balance between artistic liberties and creating a work that can be appreciated by the community at large.
“Muralists come and paint in a festival for less than they charge a private commission because they’re given artistic freedom…muralists get to decide what they want to paint. The artists love it,” said Ruhe.
The murals themselves are created through a distinct process for the festival setting. Most murals are created indirectly – an approach that utilizes a polytab fabric that can be moved for different paint parties.
“The community can help paint and then the artist does all the detail work and it get’s glued up on the wall like permeant wallpaper. Once it’s on the wall, it looks like it was painted there, and murals made this way tend to last longer than murals painted directly on the wall,” said Ruhe.
One of the 2019 murals made this way included contributions from 600 community members. Ruhe explained that the mural design, which was placed on a parking garage near a local apartment complex, was crafted from the input of tenants.
“We met with people who lived there several months before the festival to talk with them about ‘what you want this mural to be about, who are you as a community?’ … Each year, we’re working on ways to [engage the community],” said Ruhe.
In 2021, the festival debuted an educational program from the Community Mural Institute that teaches participants about the intricacies of creating murals. Ruhe said providing a source of education is important to inspire a new generation of artists.
“The Community Mural Institute is an opportunity for artists to learn this technique for creating murals, because not many people know how to do it,” said Ruhe.
For the 2022 festival, the institute will feature 12 training artists who will work recreating two historic murals from the early 1970’s that have since been painted over. The murals were creations from Nelson Stevens - a member of the AfriCOBRA art alliance that directed the creation of over 30 murals in Springfield.
Ruhe noted the importance of honoring Stevens’ legacy. During his artistic heyday, Stevens ran a similar festival in his role as a professor at University of Massachusetts.
“He developed an amazing program that was 40 years ahead of its time … Every summer, he would hire students from the university and they would paint murals in Springfield,” said Ruhe.
The tribute has taken on newfound significance in the wake of Stevens’ recent death last month. Before his passing, Stevens expressed his support for the festival’s approach to recreating his storied works of art, according to Ruhe.
Ultimately, Ruhe said she hopes the 2022 Fresh Paint Mural Festival continues to extend its mission of highlighting the importance of local art.
“If you look at them and the ones that are going up this year, you’ll really see that they are reflecting Springfield as a whole and the specific neighborhoods that they are in,” said Ruhe.
Readers can learn more about the Fresh Paint Springfield Mural Festival at https://www.freshpaintspringfield.com/.