FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) – The design for a new mural started on Monday, July 8, in downtown Fargo.
Folkways, a non-profit organization that’s painting the mural, received a grant from AARP to cover the cost of it.
Their lead artist, Lesleyanne Buegel, shared the purpose of having a mural downtown.
“This ground mural hopefully will add vibrancy and increase safety for pedestrians, adding a core piece of art to the downtown murals. They make cars slow down and become more aware and just help people feel like pedestrians belong on the street with the art being there,” said Buegel.
The work of painting the mural is located at the intersection of 5th Street North and 2nd Avenue North.
The people working on the design hope that the mural becomes an attractive image that makes people stop to appreciate the art.
“Folkways is really excited to have this done in time for our main event season,” said Buegel.
The group was happy to get started on the project, but behind that joy of painting, there’s a very specific process to make sure it gets done right.
“Everything is kind of specified with a specific kind of epoxy coating. So, everything has a specific dry time. So we’re going to apply the primer, let it dry out, and then we’ll apply our coats,” said Buegel.
An aspect that they think will set the piece apart is the location, as they believe it would bring a new aspect to the historic part of the city.
“I think it will be beautiful. I think it will be fun and I think it will really bring the community all together. Hopefully, it can make people stop and just kind of smile or take a moment as they walk by to appreciate some local art,” said Buegel.
The lead artist of the project says that they’ll be painting until 9 p.m. on Monday, July 8. The team plans for the mural to be finished by Saturday, July 12; however, it could vary depending on the weather.
