We wanted to add a variety of art created by local artists that would add pops of color throughout the district. Warrensburg Main Street created an art committee made of community members, art teachers, inspiring arts, and those who just love art to help generate ideas and visions for Downtown Warrensburg. After several meetings, a plan was made to offer a variety of types of art projects that would engage the local community.
In 2021 the art committee decided to add a selfie trail with a variety of small pops of art that would be placed in alleys, behind buildings, and on side streets to attract foot traffic. This idea is a twist on a typical selfie wall or mural. A “selfie wall” is when an artist creates a piece of art that an individual can be a part of and then takes pictures or photos with the art. Some examples of this type of art would be angel or butterfly wings. People stand next to the art for an interactive picture. The committees thought a selfie trail in public or hidden parts of downtown would provide added fun when visiting downtown.
We started to seek out bids from local artists to create these unique art pieces downtown. During this process, we had a submission from a local artist and the University of Central Missouri Director of the Gallery of Art and Design, Christian Culter, which caught the eye of the committee. Although the committee did not vote for his design to be considered as a part of the official selfie trail they did feel like the mural should be added to the downtown district.
The art piece was bid as a graffiti-style design using the Warrensburg “rising sun” logo design which was adopted to be the official logo of Warrensburg in 2007. The pattern was hand applied in multiple bright colors of spray paint with a stencil of the rising sun logo. The original bid was for the design to be on a 4ft by 8ft wood panel to be mounted to a wall. Since the committee no longer thought of this mural in the selfie trail, the size of the project no longer had dimension restrictions. The mural was then proposed at the end of 2021 to be the length of City Hall’s retaining wall which measured to be 10ft tall and 75 ft long.
The committee accepted the bid for the Warrensburg Rising Sun wall mural and Warrensburg Main Street began the steps to get the project approved. The art committee and staff proposed the project to the Warrensburg Art Commission. The commission’s mission is to establish and oversee programs related to public awareness of, accessibility to, participation in, and support for arts and cultural activities in the City of Warrensburg. Main Street attended a commission meeting and presented the project to the commission for approval. During the presentation, Main Street shared the contract with the artist that states Main Street will maintain the public art for 5 years using monies raised by Warrensburg Main Street. After five years, Main Street has the option to renew the contract, replace the area with new art, or let the property owner take possession of the art. Once passed by the Art Commission they then would take this to the City Council for approval. By the end of 2021, Warrensburg Sun was officially in motion to be added to the North side of City Hall.
While the project discussion and necessary paperwork began in 2021, the project itself was not completed until Spring of 2022 due to winter weather and the steps needed to prep the location for its new facelift. When the sight of warmer weather was underway, Christian began getting to work. In no time, he was able to quickly brighten the 75-foot wall with greens, pinks, yellows, and blues. The design was exactly the pop of color the Art Committee was looking for. This mural now welcomes train passengers as they come through Downtown Warrensburg and welcome those heading to the University of Central Missouri. This Warrensburg Rising Sun mural is now a staple location for portraits and senior photographs to be taken. This project may have only cost us $600, but the long-lasting impact it has on our community is priceless.