One of Indiana’s largest mural sites will soon be in Greencastle.
The four silos on the left side of the road as you drive into Greencastle, at the intersection of Veterans Highway and Rt. 231, were chosen for the site of a mural celebrating Putnam County.
“Something like 10,000 people drive by there a day. It serves as a gateway to Greencastle,” said Chris Flegal, chair of the Putnam County Mural Project committee.
Prep work for the silos began on August 12 and has since been completed. The actual mural installation will occur from Sept. 16 to Sept. 30.
Over $30,000 was raised by the community in a month. Because of the CreatINg Places matching grant, grants that are given to communities for creative improvements, the project’s total budget is around $60,000.
The budget includes any upkeep the mural may need in the next five years.
From a pool of over 70 applicants, the muralist Andrei Krautsou, known as Key Detail, was selected to complete the project.
Krautsou is a New York based artist from Minsk, Belarus who also works with painting, drawing and illustrations. He has completed more than 50 large murals across the U.S. and overseas.
Putnam County residents were asked how they would describe their county for six weeks. Their answers highlight the rural counties ties to both agriculture and the arts which will be features of the mural.
“That is what public art does best, it brings the community together to build something new with each other,” said Alexandra Chamberlain, Putnam County Mural Project committee member.
Flegal says the committee hopes that this project won’t be the only one of its kind in Putnam County. Ideally, Flegal says, they’d make this a yearly project to paint Putnam County.