Artwork to appear on downtown building
Another mural project is beginning in downtown Waupaca.
It was scheduled to begin on Sept. 22, and is expected to be completed in early October, depending on weather conditions.
Designed by professional mural artist Leif Larson, the mural will be 13 feet high and run the length of the Union Street side of the Antiques on Main building.
The business is located at 202 S. Main St.
“We are so excited to give the Waupaca community this huge gift of color and excitement,” said Marci Reynolds, president of the Waupaca Community Arts Board. “We hope everyone enjoys watching this large image unfold in the heart of downtown throughout September and October. It’s so large and detailed, that one of our members even suggested installing a bench across the street, so people could sit and enjoy it after it’s complete.”
Financed through grants from Community First Credit Union and a Waupaca Area Convention and Visitors Bureau Tourism Development grant, the mural is coming to life through the efforts of a collaborative Arts Board Mural Committee.
The committee is comprised of arts board members, city officials and several downtown merchants.
Selecting Leif Larson
“Selecting an artist whose style matched our community and my building was the hardest part,” said Antiques on Main Building owner Mona Bureau. “But, when we saw Leif’s other work in the region, he was our unanimous first choice.”
Larson began his public art murals in 2010.
He said he loves working with communities to bring public art to their downtown areas.
His intent is to make public art murals that universally relate to human beings as a whole, but also celebrate the intangibles of the host community.
The last two murals he completed were in Little Chute, and on the New Moon Café in Oshkosh.
The Waupaca mural project is Larson’s most ambitious mural to date.
He could not wait to begin.
“Getting this opportunity is such an honor. It has been a pleasure working with the Waupaca Community Arts Board to envision Waupaca’s project,” Larson said. “They are wonderful folks. It’s been exciting getting the plans and timelines together with them.”
The arts board initially hoped to have a community painting day, as it did with the downtown crosswalk murals and C.E. Brady “You Belong” mural on the Woodpile Foundation building, 221 N. Main St.
However, the COVID-19 pandemic makes it impossible to do so safely.
Instead, the arts board invites the public to socially distance with masks, and enjoy watching Larson bring Waupaca’s latest mural to life.
People may visit www.waupacaarts.org/waupaca-mural-projects to watch the mural unfold.
The arts board also plans to post updates on Facebook and Instagram.