Contract approved for mural

FAYETTEVILLE — A new mural could be painted on a downtown parking deck as early as summer.

The Advertising and Promotion Commission on Monday approved a $25,000 contract with Monument Studio, or Fellow Human Gallery, to paint a mural on the side of the Fayetteville Town Center parking garage facing West Rock Street.

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but [parking garages] are not always the most attractive structures, so I think a mural on the side of ours in particular could be unique and something exciting for downtown,” said Molly Rawn, executive director

of Experience Fayetteville, the convention and visitors bureau for the city. The commission had $25,000 budgeted for public art this year, Rawn said at Monday’s meeting.

She said the city can successfully bring in out-of-area artists to create public art.

“It really works well when instead of us working directly with an artist, we’re working with a firm or a gallery or a curator who does that for a living, who has those artist contacts and who is better suited to engage with the artist,” Rawn said.

The artist who will paint the mural and the exact size and subject matter hasn’t been decided, she said. Experience Fayetteville staff will approve a rendering of the mural before the artist paints it.

“It appears that the minute it’s done, we own it and if for some reason it isn’t something we want, which I can’t imagine happening, we own it and we can get rid of it,” said Robert Rhoads, commissioner.

The commission unanimously approved the contract with Todd Martin and Ching Mong absent.