youth literacy mural

Old Town Winchester is located in the scenic Northern Shenandoah Valley and includes a centrally located walking mall with many locally owned shops, cozy restaurants, craft breweries, and inviting coffee spots. Friends of Old Town, a local nonprofit benefiting the downtown, is working in partnership with a local building owner and the John and Janice Wyatt Foundation to install a single mural across three walking mall store fronts (54 S Loudoun Street to 102 S Loudoun Street), with approximate dimensions of 12’ high by 62.5’ wide. The mural will stretch over the second story brick facade of Rhythm Studio & Dance Wear, a currently vacant storefront, and Thinker Toys. The mural will be across from a public “splash pad” that sees a high volume of young child and family use throughout the summer. The theme for the project is youth literacy and the vision is to have a mural that feels immersive and feels like it tells a story.

Submitting artists should have experience designing and painting murals. While a concept sketch is not required for submission, a brief written description of the design is required. This description should reflect the project theme and context of the project site, while being respectful of the greater context of the community; the proposed design must also be family-friendly and cannot depict sexual conduct or sexually explicit nudity nor advertise an activity illegal under the laws of Virginia or the United States. Project leaders may contact applicants for clarification of their project prior to final selection.

The selected artists whose proposals best meet the project objectives will receive a $500 stipend to submit a concept design image of the proposed artwork, scaled to the space and digitally shown in the context of the project site. From these concept designs, a single artist will be chosen. Their concept design will undergo one round of review by the Stakeholder Committee before it is finalized with the artist and mural installation may begin.