BANGOR, Maine — A pair of murals will soon come to downtown Bangor, both centering around Maine’s natural landscape.
The project, a collaboration between Bangor Beautiful and Wabanaki Public Health and Wellness, will see a forest scene painted on the wall of a building on Hammond Street, near the intersection with Franklin Street, as well as a portrayal of the path of water, from mountain to sea, imposed on the asphalt nearby.
Annette Dodd, an organizer of the effort, hopes what she calls a mural "blitz" will make an impression.
"Public art can do so much for a city," Dodd said Friday. "It creates joy in the pedestrians who are walking or driving in the city."
Dodd is credited as one of the drivers of a recent boom in mural art in Bangor. Her most notable works include the "Greetings from Bangor Maine" and "Paul Bunyan Bangor Wants You" murals, both well-known fixtures of the downtown area.
For the Hammond Street project, Maine muralist Jared Goulette has been commissioned to complete the building mural using spray paint. Wabanaki artists will design the separate piece on the road.
Indigenous leaders hope this will offer an important forum for the public to interact with tribal art.
"Our art is everywhere, and now it's time to make that art and our people more visible," Lisa Sockabasin, co-CEO of Wabanaki Health and Wellness, said on Saturday. "Healing is much more powerful when our art and culture are present."
Both murals are expected to be completed by this summer.