MONTAGUE — RiverCulture is planning a temporary mural project that will expand public art across multiple villages next summer.

Suzanne LoManto, director of RiverCulture, an organization seeking to foster Montague’s creative economy, told the Selectboard on Monday that this effort comes following a training series that she, Montague Public Libraries Director Caitlin Kelley and Parks & Recreation Director Jon Dobosz attended called “Making It Public,” which offered information on best practices for public art. The training was offered by the New England Foundation for the Arts in cooperation with the Metropolitan Area Planning Council’s Arts & Culture Department.

“The aim of the training was to foster best practices that inspire more vibrant and just public spaces through art-making throughout the commonwealth,” LoManto said.

LoManto said they learned how to be inclusive and equitable when it comes to public art, and how town departments can work together to foster public art.

With the training now concluded, Montague will use a $15,000 grant to put out a call for temporary public art, specifically wheatpaste murals. Wheatpaste is used to create temporary murals by pasting printed paper to surfaces like buildings. Designs can be created digitally and printed onto the paper.

“We wanted a project that had few obstacles to participation because the final design is going to be digital, and we wanted something that was fun and we haven’t seen in the valley,” LoManto explained.

Using the $15,000 grant, LoManto said there will be six art installations placed and three artists will be chosen to create the digital designs.

Two will be in downtown Turners Falls at the St. Kazimierz Society and the Colle Opera House. Another pair will be on either side of the bike path near Montague Town Hall and at the old Masonic Lodge, now Catherine Grace Studios, in Montague City. The final pair will be in Millers Falls on the building at the corner of East Main Street and Franklin Street, and the Powers Block building.

LoManto said applications will be accepted starting in early January. Artists who are over the age of 18 and are U.S. residents can apply. The designs should involve “strong site-specific composition” that takes into account the structure of the building that the mural would be placed on, and the selected artists should have relevant mural design experience and an interest in hearing community input on their design.

Preference will be given to artists who live within 20 miles of Montague, or who have a strong connection to the town and its villages. Additionally, artist diversity is a goal for the selection process.

The murals are planned to be installed in May 2025, then removed in September. From the $15,000, the three selected artists will be given $4,000 each, and the remaining money will go toward installation and printing costs.

A team effort

Recently, LoManto worked with Town Planner Maureen Pollock and Common Wealth Murals LLC to coordinate the Shea Theater Arts Center mural project, done by North Carolina artist Darion Fleming. LoManto said although the scale of these projects is very different, the similarities between the planned wheatpaste murals and Fleming’s permanent mural is the collaborative nature of the process.

“What is the most similar is best practices around releasing public art, releasing a call for art, and structuring a fair and transparent jury, judging system and rubric,” she said.

The planning for this project is in its early stages, LoManto said, and more information for artists and those interested in being part of the design judging process will be released at a later date.

LoManto feels this effort is an opportunity for interdepartmental collaboration while expanding public art in town. Kelley and Dobosz participating in the “Making It Public” training along with her means that they, too, will have the knowledge on public art for initiatives they may want to pursue in the future.

Kelley said in a phone interview that the training helped her better understand public art procurement.

“[The training] was interesting to learn the process of how best to work with the community,” Kelley said, adding that she sees this as “an opportunity to highlight local artists.”

“We’re very lucky to live in a state that puts so much money into public art and culture,” LoManto said, “and so it only makes sense that there would be programs to help municipalities understand how to do that in the best way possible with the best outcome.”

Erin-Leigh Hoffman can be reached at ehoffman@recorder.com or 413-930-4231.