TURNERS FALLS — The Selectboard will explore having a 3,200-square-foot mural painted at the Shea Theater Arts Center next year, voting to pursue grant funding this week.

The concept would see the eastside wall adorned in art that “fits very well” thematically with the town, according to Britt Ruhe, director of Common Wealth Murals, the Springfield-based nonprofit organization managing the $44,900 project. Town Planner Maureen Pollock framed the project “as a way to increase standard of living, foster the creative economy and drive tourism” in a memorandum sent to Town Administrator Steve Ellis on Monday.

“This proposed public art project supports to advance the locally-driven placemaking initiatives in downtown Turners Falls that will further help define and support the ongoing efforts to make Turners Falls a destination that attracts residents and visitors,” Pollock continued.

“I think the first large-scale mural you do sets the standard for everything that comes after,” Ruhe told the Selectboard. “Doing something very good, very professional, bringing in a really high-quality artist is kind of like a rising tide that lifts all boats. It lifts all the expectations after and it helps people see what’s possible.”

Should the town proceed with the project, Common Wealth Murals would issue a national call for artists “based on parameters and priorities developed in collaboration with the Board of Directors, Town of Montague officials and other stakeholders” selected by the town, according to a breakdown by the organization. After vetting the applicants, Common Wealth Murals would review and rank them before selecting a finalist.

“Once the muralist is selected, there’s a back-and-forth that happens,” Ruhe added. “A conversation that happens where you can really dig into more specifics.”

Painting would span a two-week period between May and September 2024, according to the project breakdown.

The Selectboard did not commit to the project during Monday’s meeting, opting first to pursue financial aid. They unanimously voted to apply for a $22,450 grant within MassDevelopment’s Commonwealth Places program to fund half the project. The other half would be funded through American Rescue Plan Act as a cash match required by the grant program.

RiverCulture Director Suzanne LoManto, whose organization proposed the idea for the mural alongside the Planning Board, explained that the money it brings in could result in the project paying for itself within the foreseeable future.

“One of the ways of understanding the vitality of the creative economy is through meals tax,” she explained. “It’s common wisdom that as you bring people to your downtown, to your shops and restaurants through art and recreation, the meals tax will go up.”

Thus far, through 2023, the meals tax has raised about $39,000, which means Montague could “easily approach” $80,000 by the year’s end, LoManto reasoned. This would be $17,000 more than the $63,000 raised in 2022—the highest in at least three years.

“That shows me … that an investment in art and culture at this scale could probably pay for itself in a few years,” she concluded. “We could easily come up with $20,000 worth of meals tax by putting this very large-scale mural up at the site of the Shea.”

Reach Julian Mendoza at 413-930-4231 or jmendoza@recorder.com.

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