Montague Seeks Muralist for the Shea Theater in Turners Falls, MA

The Town of Montague seeks an experienced muralist to paint a 3,000 square foot mural on a wall of the Shea Theater Arts Center, located at 71 Avenue A in Turners Falls, Massachusetts. The mural will function as a gateway, with the goal of instantly branding the village as a creative community and encouraging residents and visitors and enjoy local retail shops, restaurants, and the art scene.

The Town is working with Common Wealth Murals (CWM) to assist with this project. CWM is a mural management nonprofit that partners with professional muralists and communities to create
public art which reflects the hopes, histories, and heroes of their neighborhoods.

A steering group is comprised of Montague residents, business owners, and representatives from the Shea Theater, RiverCulture and the Montague Planning Department has been formed to provide oversight of this work. The steering group will assist with preparing the Artist Call/RFP, muralist selection process, public outreach and community engagement, and the review and approval of the final design. The muralist selection criteria will focus on previous work and experience, commitment to creating public art that reflects the community where the art is located, and increasing the diversity of artistic representation in Turners Falls.

The selected muralist will be expected to attend community listening sessions to seek public input about the project’s design theme. Based on public input, the muralist will prepare a concept for the steering group’s review and approval. The mural is expected to be painted by September 2024.

The selected muralist will receive an artist fee of $15,000. All paint, supplies, equipment, transportation, room and board will be provided.

For questions/comments, please contact RiverCulture Director Suzanne LoManto at riverculture@montague-ma.gov or Montague Town Planner Maureen Pollock at maureenp@montague-ma.gov.