Local art activist Tyler Wagner said State College is a “launch pad.”
Because of the borough’s strong community and ties to Penn State, people’s dreams “begin to take flight,” Wagner said.
With help from the community, the Community Arts Collective conceived the theme — Dreams Take Flight — for a new community mural, to be located on the corner of Beaver Avenue and Fraser Street, said Wagner, the group’s fundraising coordinator.
Though Wagner has helped with the project from the beginning, he said Artistic Director Elody Gyekis and Executive Director Natalia Pilato are the “leadership of this project.”
“Those two gals really are the ones who are responsible for how successful this project has been,” Wagner said. “My role has really been one of support.”
Pilato also said the idea for the theme came because it fit perfectly for the State College community.
“We felt like State College is a place where things start and kind of shape, and a lot of people move away and come back and sort of migrate to and from the area,” she said. “People come here to aspire. Dreams are taking flight and maybe they fly away and go somewhere else or they develop here and become wonderful.”
The mural is not just for Pilato and Gyekis’ to create.
Though the pair created the layout of the mural, the design was transferred into Photoshop to make one large paint-by-numbers type of mural so that people can come and paint an available mural panel.
The mural painting sessions opened during the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts, and Pilato said the response has been strong so far. Painters have ranged in diversity from community members to visitors from countries like China and Korea, she said.
“Some people really dedicate themselves to the color and won’t leave until they paint every section of their color,” Pilato said.
The design for the mural incorporates the four seasons, and Pilato said the first season is nearly complete.
Painting sessions occur every Wednesday from 1 to 3 p.m. and every Thursday from 1 to 3 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. Group sessions are also available, she said.
In order to construct the mural, the Community Arts Collective received funding from many donors including the Centre County Community Foundation and the borough of State College.
Even though the initiative took a lot of planning, Gyekis said her favorite part is having other people participate in the painting.
“My favorite part is once we’re finally started and having people come in and paint… people having fun and being a part of the project,” Gyekis said. “[It’s] really fun and easy and anyone can do it. [It’s great] to be a part of something that is going to last forever in State College.”