Mural Mice

Ray and I just returned from Prescott to see the unveiling of a mural.  Margaret Dewar, my first cousin once removed–whom I will just refer to as my cousin–was the assistant director and one of the the main artistic contributors.  She, along with project director and fellow contributing artist, R. E. Wall (R for short), unveiled the “Art For All” mural located at 109.5 South Granite Street (Northwest Corner of Parking Garage) in Prescott, AZ.

It is utterly amazing.

I’m not just saying that because Margaret is my relative.  It really is an important piece of work. The mural celebrates the Heritage Heroes of Prescott and emphasizes the power of art and self expression.

I whined in my last post because I was freaked out about what I thought was a large project at work that was visible to the entire county.  The scope of their project put me in my place.  This mural had a teeny-tiny budget and took two and a half years to create.  It was made possible by local artists, grants, museums, schools and businesses.  All people enlisted to help were referred to as Mural Mice. 

The mural project surveyed the community for ideas and people submitted pictures and letters.  Mural Mice spent months at the Sharlot Hall Museum Archives gathering information about the artists from Prescott to add to the mural.  R. and Margaret designed three murals for the community to choose from.  A free election was held for the public to vote, offer suggestions and give feedback.  On April 5th, 2006, the “Art for All” mural became the first community infused and democratically elected mural in Prescott history and on September 15th, 2007, the mural was officially dedicated.

Since I could not photograph the entire mural, here are some detail close-up shots:

Me and Maggie (with her mural mice ears on).

To be honest, when I first arrived in town, I really expected to see some cute little painting on a wall somewhere.  I was totally blown away not only by the mural but by the tremendous work that went on behind the scenes.  I’m fond of my cousin Maggie and the Mural Mice and I’m beaming with pride at their accomplishment.  Now if I could only get her to come visit Bisbee…

Some of the info in this post was taken from the dedication brochure. Click here to see the Prescott Downtown Mural Project site.