PORT WASHINGTON — Recently, a Wisconsin city has added a huge splash of color with nine new murals, and there are still more murals to paint.
Starting in 2023, Port Washington began a city beautification process called Paint on Port that involved painting 12 murals across the downtown region.
“Make us an arts destination and increase tourism and bring the community together through art," Eileen Grace, the Paint on Port program director said.
In 2023, five murals were painted. In 2024, the city added four more. The last three will be painted in 2025.
“It opens minds. It opens thoughts. Sometimes it opens hearts when you really are touched by something," Grace said.
Artists from Mexico, Australia, Wisconsin, Illinois, and North Carolina have painted the murals. However, two have specifically been a Port Washington endeavor. While the city has had a hand in many of the paintings, two (and eventually a third) are known as the community murals. One was painted with the help of adults with disabilities and another was made with the help of students in the district and in the catholic school.
Watch the story to see the other murals...
“I kind of came here worried that it wouldn’t turn out, and I like it. It’s perfect. It’s amazing, and I’m proud I contributed in the way I did," Ahnaleigh Sprang, a junior at Port Washington High School said.
For Sprang, it felt good to contribute to something the entire community would enjoy and helps make the city a prettier place.
“People get to look at stuff that’s bright and colorful in a town that’s maybe before as boring or dull it just adds life in my opinion," Sprang said.
The next community mural will be made by some of the city’s youngest and oldest neighbors.
The mural project started with this mosaic in 2023. Port Washington was chosen as the Midwest recipient of the Mural Mosaic Global Roots project, a national organization committed to creating community art. This mosaic includes 1,500 tiles painted by 1,500 people across the Midwest and country.
“A day doesn’t go by people from out of town come and are looking at the mural and pointing to it," Grace said.
The Paint on Port project brought the community together to create unique art for the benefit of the city, and it will last for multiple generations.
You can see a map of all the murals here.
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