FREDERICKTOWN — The art movement may be gaining a stronghold in Fredericktown.
On Monday, Village Council approved money for murals to be painted on downtown buildings and also heard about two art institutions proposed for the village.
The first mural will be painted on the wall of the old Fink building on North Main Street by members of the Knox County Art League. Tami Mowery is heading up the project, which will include painting the village’s bicentennial flag on the side of the building. Members of the art league will also be painting a mural on the Leve-Agriman grain bins and another building downtown is also being considered. Council approved the expenditure of $3,000 for those murals.
Jason Bowles, Don Boyd and Katie Lane of the Open Fluxus Foundation also presented their proposals for art institutions to council. The first is using the old furniture factory at 66 Mount Vernon Ave. for various art studios. Bowles and Boyd are currently in negotiations for the purchase of the building and hope to have it rehabilitated and used for summer art classes starting in 2009.
“We’d model it after other famous art residences,” said Bowles of the 80,000-square-foot building. Bowles believes there is a large art community in Knox County just waiting for an opportunity to participate in this adventure.
The second portion of the proposal would include a children’s museum at 75 S. Main St. Boyd owns the property and would like to set up an art museum in the building where children can see various works of art and the tools used to create them.
The third portion of the proposal is already in progress, as Katie and Andy Lane are renovating the old Katie’s Amish Kitchen building on South Main Street in Mount Vernon. Katie Lane said they are turning the first floor into the Roots Art Center. There is also a studio and two classrooms will be created in the back, as well as the upstairs renovated for apartments.
Boyd said the group would like to have a chili dinner and auction in the near future to help raise funds and awareness of the projects.
In other news, councilman Alan Kintner stated 36 bicentennial banners have been ordered and a local man, Mark Bombadier, is working on creating brackets for them to be placed on telephone poles in the village.