Battle Creek chooses muralist for Friendship Park

Kathy Jennings | Thursday, May 15, 2014

Having created more than 200 murals, Conrad Kaufman's art work is well known to those across Southwest Michigan. He now has been chosen to create a mural for downtown Battle Creek.

In the fall of 2013, a mural was chosen by public vote for the downtown. The Friendship Park Mural Project is a project of the public arts collaborative ArtSensical, which is focused on creating public arts, community-building, tourism, and economic development in Battle Creek. Kaufman will present a glimpse of Battle Creek with a classic car and hot air balloons driving past a field of corn, the winning concept.

Kaufman’s work can be seen in and around the Battle Creek area at the former Habitat Restore, the Brydges Building in the Fort Custer Industrial Park, inside Western Michigan University’s Anthropology Department and the Northeast Gateway Mural in Kalamazoo, to name a few.

As Kaufman paints the mural, he also will provide instruction through mentoring to area youth and young adults who have a background or interest in art. Participants will develop critical skills to help them understand the relationship between aesthetics and the environment, composition, and painting techniques. They also will develop relationships.

Letters of interest from those between the ages of 14 and 26 who would like to participate in this mentoring opportunity are now being accepted. Prospective participants do not need to have extensive art experience, but should have an interest in or a background in art and a desire to work on a community art project.

Due to the teaching nature of the program, the number of participants taking part in this opportunity will be limited to 12. Participants will need to have reliable transportation to and from the worksite and be available to work a combination of days and hours--primarily Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. through August.

Those interested in being a participant should send a letter of interest to Conrad Kaufman at conradmurals@yahoo.com by June 6. The letter of interest should include name, age, where you live, and a paragraph containing your interest statement.

Participants selected to participate in this unpaid summer art mentorship will be notified by Friday, June 13 by email. Selected participants will receive additional information upon selection.

“I am pleased to have been selected as the artist to bring this design to life,” says Kaufman. “I look forward to the opportunity to share my mural process with the gathering group of artists that I will be mentoring.”

Source: Alyssa Jones, Battle Creek Unlimited