By KALYN MENIFEE – Senior and aspiring artist Kelsey Wagner, along with other high school and college students, collaborated over the summer on a mural project along a building on Carpenter Avenue.
Wagner had seen a flyer in the art room that both the Indiana Arts Council and IUP were looking for artists to help paint a mural downtown. Kelsey worked for three months on four separate pieces trying to capture what she felt was unique about our hometown of Indiana. In these paintings, she wanted to capture Indiana’s rich history, as well as celebrating the town’s colorful nature and vast parks.
Murals like this provide an outlet for young artists to share their achievements with the community, as well as bring new life to previously overlooked parts of town. Kelsey participated in this wonderful excursion, and it provided new experiences and a sense of unity between her and her fellow artists. Wagner commented, “I would like to thank all the people I had the pleasure of working with, it felt like a family.”
Community projects like this are not hard to come by, and Wagner feels that being in a collective like the mural project this is really enriching and life-changing.
Wagner adds, “It’s creating a bigger picture for a large audience to enjoy. I really suggest that if you have the chance to collaborate with other artists you should definitely do it. It will give you knowledge and skills that will stay with you for the rest of your life.”
[Photo courtesy of Kelsey Wagner}
Photo Caption: Senior Kelsey Wagner poses near the mural she created on Carpenter Avenue.
