MV Students Painting the City

During the 2020-21 school year the Mississinawa Valley Art Department will be collaborating with a visiting artist for 100 days through a grant received from the Ohio Arts Council. One of the goals is to help the community create public art.

The visiting artist, Timothy Wells, and the Mississinawa High School art teacher, Ashley Austerman, have been working with Mississinawa Valley students to design and create artwork to be permanently displayed in the village, paramount of which is a mural about the past, present, and future of Union City.

The students are currently working on a mural design focusing on community pride and landmarks in the community. The design is in its revision and editing phase but currently includes a train, football players, Indiana and Ohio state flowers, concert stage, ferris wheel, combine, and other various landmarks.

The committee is attempting to solicit funds that would be used for the community art projects, including the planned mural. The end goal would be for the student-created work to be printed on metal signs and mounted and installed in the community. The location and size of the mural would be determined after fundraising.

Currently the cost of the project is being finalized. The goal is to raise $10,000 for the community art projects. As of the writing of this article, grants of $1,000 have been awarded from both the Ketrow Foundation and the Lydia Schaurer Memorial Trust for this project.

Local donations are also being provided by Frank Miller Lumber, All Brothers Lawn Care, The Union City Lions Club, and Gower Painting. Leads on other sources of funds are also being pursued.

If you would like to make a donation, ask questions, or learn more about the project, contact Ashley Austerman by email at ashley_austerman@mississinawa.org or by phone at 937.968.4464 ext. 2219.