BY SARAH STEPHENS
ELMORE/AUTAUGA NEWS
Editor’s Note: For more information, rules and eligibility and an application to be considered for a grant to assist with a mural at a Millbrook location, click https://millbrookchamber.org/mural-grant-program/
Applications are being accepted for the City of Millbrook’s Mural program. Successful candidates will get an 80/20 grant to help with expenses for the creation of their mural on property they own.
The City Council approved the Mural Grant Program last year, and the first of what is hoped to be many murals was created on the side of the Welcome Center Food Pantry on Main Street by King’s Canvas.
“Murals are extremely popular with people, and some people travel all over to take the photos,” Millbrook Mayor Al Kelley said. “We are so proud to have our first mural up, and we hope that through this grant program more businesses owners and individuals will take part as well.”
The murals are just part of a much larger plan to redevelop Millbrook’s downtown area. But it is an important piece, said Brenda Dennis, Executive Director of the Millbrook Area Chamber of Commerce, which established a board to oversee the grant application process. She said that the murals are not just for the downtown area, however. The potential is also there for the Hwy. 14 corridor and throughout the city.
The city set aside $30,000 to help with funding the grant. It is hoped that this will inspire more murals to begin popping up in the near future.
Those who apply and are accepted would pay 20 percent of the cost of a mural, with the grant funds covering the remaining 80 percent up to $6,000, Dennis said. The chamber will help with finding an artist with experience in murals if the business does not have one in mind.
There are multiple program rules which can be accessed online. However, you need to know that mural grant applicants must be the property owner of the proposed site. Any tenants interested in a Mural Grant should encourage their landlords to apply.
The proposed site must be located within the corporate limits of Millbrook to qualify for the grant.
The purpose of the grant program is to encourage public art in the community. The city or chamber reserves the right to decline to award a Mural Grant based on multiple factors which can be accessed online.
Property owner must select their own artists, but assistance with a list of qualified artists is available.
Did you know Alabama has a State Mural Trail?
From the website: The Alabama Mural Trail encourages both locals and tourists to discover Alabama off the beaten path. The trail offers a diverse set of murals in both urban and rural areas around the state. When exploring the trail, travelers might find depictions of everything from a historical display of the civil rights movement to a scene from To Kill a Mockingbird to a set of angel wings. If you’re out and about and find a mural with the Alabama Mural Trail marker in the corner, be sure to snap a picture in front of the mural, tag @alabamatourist on Facebook and Instagram, and use #SweetHomeMurals.
Visit www.alabamamuraltrail.org to see various murals across the state.
