By NANCY DUNN
Special to the Daily Press
Artesia will be busy with all things art-related this summer.
The Artesia Arts & Cultural District’s Downtown Mural Program has four new murals plus two restorations currently going on, and things are getting colorful downtown!
The 1975 historic murals in Artesia’s Heritage Walkway, 316 W. Main St., are being restored by local artist Kirsten Mauritsen. The two huge murals were installed in 1976 by the Artesia Junior Woman’s Club, and local artist/art teacher Helen Mapes designed and oversaw the original murals. The murals were touched up in 1985 and 2005, and the current restoration will restore original colors and design elements.
After she finishes with the mural restorations, Mauritsen will install an original public mural on The Derrick Floor’s pump house at 519 W. Main St. Artesia artist Oscar Hernandez will install an original public mural on the Heritage Plaza pump house behind 310-316 W. Main St.
A two-part student mural will be installed on the back and side of the Artesia Family Wellness Center, 412 W. Main St., as part of a planned mural alley in memory of local businessman and youth/arts supporter Rick Wiles. Local art students will join instructors Brandi Cox and Juli Newton to install a student-designed mural that reflects an aspect of Artesia’s culture (wait and see!).
In addition to these projects, we are actively seeking funding to support pieces by Artesia native Jeremy Navarette, Santa Fe artist Simona Rael, and a piece by Taylor Ojeda of Alamogordo because we got so many great submissions for our recent RFPs that we need to find homes for them all! Funding is expected to be secured by mid-July, so stay tuned for more mural fun soon!
For more information about the Artesia Arts & Cultural District’s mural program, check out www.artesiamainstreet.com — the Mural Trail section details all Artesia murals (ACD and others) and highlights other Southeast New Mexico mural communities — or contact acdmurals@gmail.com.