Dreamers plan for second Art in the Alley
Katie Anderson/Observer-Reporter
This Washington mural, on the wall of a North Main Street building, is being worked on by artist Kelsey Miller.
Katie Anderson/Observer-Reporter
A mural is being painted at 15 N. Main St., the building that collapsed four years ago and is now owned by Mark Kennison.
Katie Anderson/Observer-Reporter
Erin McChesney, 19, of Scenery Hill, is painting a large mural on the side of the building that houses The Table café on East Chestnut Street.
The Dreamers Company is planning to host another Art in the Alley event this summer, as more artists are painting murals on buildings in downtown Washington.
Although a date for the event is undecided, the artists have started their projects with two on North Main Street. One of the artists, Erin McChesney, 19, of Scenery Hill, will be painting a large mural on the side of the building that houses The Table café on East Chestnut Street.
“I’ve been an artist my whole life,” McChesney said. “I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t creating.”
This is her first mural, though she’d done “large-scale paintings” in the past. Her mural will consist of several vintage-looking items, like a bicycle, a fan and a radio, all connected and encased in vines.
“It’s really awesome to be a part of it,” McChesney said. “It’s showing me how many artists are in Washington and how many people really care about Washington and want to improve our city.”
Another mural, by artist Kelsey Miller, is going up next to the arms that were painted last year, on the south-facing wall of Mark Kennison’s building on North Main Street. Allie Menhart, of Wheeling, W.Va., painted the arms mural for last year’s Art in the Alley event, calling them a “pop-art take” on the arms in Michelangelo’s “The Creation of Adam.”
Lastly, a mural is being painted at 15 N. Main St., the building that collapsed four years ago and is now owned by Kennison. Though the mural isn’t finished, the words “Be Kind” have been painted by artists Eve DeGiovanni and Rylie Stopperich, according to Dreamers board member and event coordinator Nikki Popielarcheck.
Popielarcheck said the nonprofit wants the murals to be interactive for residents to take pictures and share them on social media.
“We want the art in Washington to bring people downtown and make it a destination spot and promote the beauty in downtown,” she said.
The Art in the Alley event will showcase the artwork and introduce the artists with a meet-and-greet sometime in late summer. Like last year, the ticketed event will have food, beverages and live music, with all proceeds going toward materials for the art, like tarps, paint and brushes.
“We hope to build on this every year because we want to continue to grow the murals throughout Washington,” Popielarcheck said.