Over the weekend new murals were dedicated in Westfield Falconer and Sherman.

A dedication for a new mural in Dunkirk is scheduled for Saturday at 6 p.m.

The Partnership for Economic Growth and The Chautauqua County Department of Planning and Development are the agencies behind the Inaugural Paint CHQ Mural Festival.

Beginning in August, international national artists were brought to the county to work on the murals.

The progress actually began in February.

In each of this year’s PAINT CHQ communities, a local Steering Committee was formed, consisting of local business owners, local artists, municipal leaders, and invested community members.

See MURALS, Page A6

Over the last six months, these individuals have been highly engaged in the artwork development process. The Steering Committee participated in town hall meetings, promoted the public feedback survey, selected the muralist, created design themes, selected the artwork, and joined in festival event planning.

Westfield, Sherman and Falconer also hosted an artist talk with their respective muralists. Mandi Caskey of Columbus, Ohio was the muralist for Falconer; Dom Laporte of Ontario, Canada was the muralist for Westfield; and Emily Ding of Houston and Justin Suarez of Rochester were the Sherman muralists.

A ribbon-cutting was held recently in Westfield for the new mural located at Grace & Abe’s, 14 N. Portage St.

Dunkirk’s muralist is Alain Welter of Luxembourg.

Local and regional artists were encouraged to apply to participate, and the local artists selected to be involved in this program are: Carrie Blitz, Angela Caley, Rose Crane, Pamela Corsoro, Jackie Damore, Jackie Doyle, Darcy Farkas, Lily Foster, Sam Gast, Jessica Joy, Chris Labuskes, Kenneth Labuskes, Jewel Lin, Melissa Meyers, Sara Baker Michalak, Victoria Parker, Joseph Rice, Jenna Robino, Erin Ruffino, and Stacey Seleen.

CCPEG noted the public murals wouldn’t have been possible without the cooperation from four property owners, who each signed up to participate in the Paint CHQ mural festival. Those locations are:

– Dunkirk: The Coburn Block, 123 Central Ave.

– Falconer: State Lanes, 16 E. Main St.

– Sherman: The Cornerstone Restaurant, 104 E. Main St.

– Westfield: Grace & Abe’s Westfield, 14 N. Portage St.

Originally CCPEG had approached the county to use part of the occupancy tax funds, but county lawmakers refused to approve the project.

Instead, funding for this project was allotted through CCPEG’s placemaking initiative, and additional funding has come from grant funding through New York State Council on the Arts, Northern Chautauqua Community Foundation, Chautauqua Region Community Foundation, Arts Services Inc., Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation, Lake Shore Savings, and the United Arts Appeal of Chautauqua County.