By WMBD
NORMAL – Normal is the lucky recipient of a new National Endowment for the Arts grant for $50,000.
According to a Town of Normal news release, the money will go towards a new mural inside the tunnel of the Uptown Connector underpass.
“Projects like Normal’s Uptown Connector underpass mural exemplify the creativity and care with which communities are telling their stories, creating connection and responding to challenges and opportunities in their communities—all through the arts,” says NEA Chair Maria Rosario Jackson, PhD.
She continued, “So many aspects of our communities such as cultural vitality, health and wellbeing, infrastructure and the economy are advanced and improved through investments in art and design, and the National Endowment for the Arts is committed to ensuring people across the country benefit.”
Local artists, educators and art patrons in the Town’s Public Art Working Group will design and install the new mural. The group was assembled back in August last year by Mayor Chris Koos to improve on Normal’s public art.
The mural will use a material known as polytab vinyl mural cloth, which can be painted on offsite and is known for its durability.
In addition to the Town of Normal mural, 1,134 other grants worth more than $37 million will be handed out by the NEA.
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