CREATE program puts artists to work

By Kris Leonhardt

STEVENS POINT – CREATE Portage County has developed a project that will put artists to work and further develop the existing county amenities through murals.

“There has been a significant economic impact to artists during COVID-19, so we were trying to think of a creative way that we could help put artists to work during this time,” said Greg Wright, CREATE Portage County executive director. “So, what we figured we could do is create these calls for murals, to raise some funds, to apply for some grants, and increase our access to provide these mural opportunities.”

Americans for the Arts estimates a $9.1 billion hit to the arts industry during COVID-19, with almost two-thirds of artists unemployed.

The project will not only aid the industry, but help develop tourism in the county.

“We have already identified four projects that are moving (forward), and we have a couple of others that are in the works that we should hear back on in the next couple of weeks,” Wright explained.

The initial four projects include the development of murals in Junction City, Rosholt, Park Ridge, Plover, and Park Ridge/Stevens Point.

“We had a donor that gave us funding for a project for Junction City this is kind of an open project. We are still working with the village of Junction City to identify the perfect location,” Wright said.

“We have another donor who gave us some funding for a project in Rosholt that we will be doing on the side of McZ’s Brew Pub, near their beer garden.

“We have a partnership with the developer who is doing the artisan fair project at the old Shopko in Plover; that is Lokre Development and the partners that are engaged in that project. So, that will be on the east-facing wall of the old Shopko in Plover.

“Then, we have an interest in a mural on the backside of Worzalla, where they just expanded. So, that is kind of adjacent to Park Ridge on Dixon Street. They are interested in putting some art up on the back of that new warehouse space that they just built.

“So those are the four that are set.

“Our goal over time is to do 50 new murals in Portage County. We know that is not what we are going to hit right away with this project. Our initial goal is to get at least 10 of them painted during this particular project, but we hope that this is something that we continue to invest in over the next couple of years.”

Wright said that the new projects will fit real well with the existing murals in downtown Stevens Point.

“We’ve done murals in downtown Stevens Point in the past,” he said. “Part of the goal was to actually increase, not just the number of them, but the region that they are in. We are hoping this will enable us to do mural tours that would get people to come, initially to the urban core of Portage County, but also send them out to some of the rural parts of the community as well. We are strategically placing some of them along bike trails and bike routes, so we can get people to bike to see a handful of murals, and do some partnerships there.”

CREATE is also working to pair murals as tourism amenities to complement what is existing in the county.

“Our murals have already shown some high capacity for drawing tourists into specific spaces, and so we are trying to activate, especially commercial districts, as a way to do this,” he said. “An example of this will happen, in this Point Brewery mural that we already have on Clark Street in downtown Point; now, we will also have a mural on the wall of McZ’s Brew Pub. So, somebody who is doing the craft collective can go and see both of those murals. Over time, we would love to have one at a different brewery as well.”

The project was selected to participate in the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation and Arts Wisconsin Creative Workforce Program, as part of the “We’re All In” COVID relief efforts.

For more information, contact CREATE at [email protected] or 715-254-0460. To learn more about the project, visit createportagecounty.org/paintthecounty.