A new mural project, soon to be unveiled to the community, is designed to promote and showcase the beautiful scenery and rich agricultural sphere that defines Hernando County.
Brooksville Main Street is inviting artists to create original artworks for Round 6 of the Mobile Mural Program, also known as Grown in Brooksville. This is an episode intended to be part of the Florida Mermaid Trail Festival at Brooksville Main Street scheduled for February 18, 2023.
“With this theme, we’re focusing on our rural community,” reads a Brooksville Main Street artist call. “Artistic representations of this theme can include animals, agriculture, gardening, or the people and families behind them—past and present. Whether you’re depicting our famous rolling hills and green pastures, painting a portrait of children growing up on Main Street, paying tribute to your favorite farm or native flowers, or creating a scene depicting a day in the life of your favorite cattle breeder or friend with green Thumbs…we’re really looking forward to your submissions for our sixth round of mobile murals, ‘Grown in Brooksville’.”
This mural series is made possible through sponsorship by Culture Builds Florida, the Florida Department of State’s Department of Cultural Affairs, and is scheduled to be featured at a number of upcoming public events in the Brooksville community.
“Our next exhibit will be during the Florida Mermaid Trail Festival, Fancy Flea, Black History and Women’s History Months, Heritage Days and the Blueberry Festival,” said Natalie Kahler, general manager of Brooksville Main Street. “We wanted something to tie all of these celebrations together, and Grown in Brooksville made sense.”
Kahler encourages artists to show the diverse dimensions and lavish spectacles that characterize and define the Brooksville landscape. “Artists can depict our people, our agriculture, our livestock, our beautiful ‘land of flowers,’ the products we create, or anything else they can imagine associated with Brooksville,” Kahler said. “We are eagerly awaiting the submissions of the artists!”
Artists receive $12 per square foot for accepted project murals. Artists must submit a portfolio and a description of the intended design; Sketches are recommended but not required. Call for artists ends December 4th.
Jessica Knutila, Mobile Mural Coordinator for Brooksville Main Street, sees this call for artists as a return to tradition. “Brooksville Main Street created the mobile mural program to support local artists and as a creative way to bring visual arts into downtown Brooksville — to revitalize space and immerse the local community in art,” she said . “For this call, we’ve decided to go back to our roots and hope to reach out to artists here in town with the theme ‘Grown in Brooksville.'”
At the same time, this latest round of mobile murals reflects changes and additions to the program. Knutila explained, “We’ve received some very valuable feedback from our past muralists, which has led to some exciting changes. We now pay artists $12 per square foot and no longer require sketches. While our voting panel appreciates a rough sketch of your design, some artists found the sketch requirements limiting – so as long as your portfolio is strong, a sketch isn’t necessary!”
Artists can choose from mural sizes of 5’x15′, 6’x10′ and 5×7′. The canvases are primed before being handed over to the artists. Artists must use professional outdoor acrylic paint for their work.
“We invite local artists of all skill levels to apply!” said Knutila. “Please tell your artist friends and encourage them to apply – there’s nothing quite like seeing your artwork on the side of a building in your community.”
Beth Putnam, Chairwoman of Hernando County Fine Arts Council, believes the Mobile Mural project is an integral and very beautiful part of Hernando’s art scene. “I like to step back and watch the growth of the arts in Hernando County over the past several years. In Brooksville specifically, the mobile murals have helped locals and visitors appreciate the art like never before,” said Putnam. “Not only have the murals added beauty and color to historic downtown Brooksville, but the project has provided an opportunity for a growing number of artists to display and sell their work.”
For more information on Grown in Brooksville, see Mobile Mural Project – Brooksville Main Street (welovebvl.org).
