CONWAY — City Hall in downtown Conway has been chosen as the backdrop for another mural — the hellbender salamander.
The west side of the building has been selected by the Conway Public Art Board as the site for the first Arkansas U.S. Fish and Wildlife endangered-species mural, said Ruthann Curry Browne, chairwoman of the art group.
“That will be really nice; it will give [city residents] something to see as they drive east on Oak and come into Toad Suck Square,” she said.
Melissa Lombardi of Wooster, endangered-species biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service office in Conway, first proposed the idea for the mural after she came across a posting on Facebook by the Center for Biological Diversity.
Browne said the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service looked around Arkansas and chose Conway, “so I think that’s really good for us,” Browne said.
The hellbender salamander, one of 27 endangered species in Arkansas, was Lombardi’s first choice for the mural subject.
“I’m so excited; my hellbender has a home,” she said. “I’m really excited about it and really grateful to the city to let us put it there.”
Oregon artist Roger Peet coordinates the murals for the Center for Biological Diversity, and he has seen photos of the site, Lombardi said.
“His rendering was of an Ozark hellbender that kind of angles up the building; it’ll be cool,” Lombardi said. The west side of the building, a former bank, has a window and awning.
“Roger Peet is really good at incorporating architectural features,” she said. Although he has made a couple of “really rough drafts” of the mural, Lombardi said, from what she has seen, what will end up on the wall will be much better.
Browne said a poster hanging on the building will be removed. The brick will be washed and prepped; then Peet and his volunteers will start.
“It’ll only take about two weeks,” she said.
One requirement of the mural is that it have an educational component. Browne said area schools will receive information about the mural so students can come view it.
The mural will include an identification plaque or painted description of the species, along with a list of partners for the project, Lombardi said.
A video will be produced about the mural, too, Browne said, which will probably be accessible through the city’s website. The Conway School District agreed to put a link to the video on the district’s website, too, she said.
Lombardi said the mural will be a good learning tool for biology classes, as well as art classes.
Maxine Payne, an art faculty member at Hendrix College in Conway, received an Odyssey Grant for the project, Lombardi said.
Hendrix art students will help paint the mural and receive credit for an Odyssey project — they are required to have at least three Odyssey experiences to graduate — and Peet will stay in Murphy House during his visit.
Browne said “the word will be put out” for other volunteers, which will include University of Central Arkansas students.
In November, the City Council approved allowing the mural to be painted on City Hall.
Members of the Conway Public Art Board, which was formed in February, scoured the city for months for a suitable place. Downtown was the preferred location, Browne said. The board has a five-year commitment to keep the mural on the building, she said.
“We think that will help dress up that building a little bit. It’s got a mural on the south side,” Browne said.
A 26-foot-by-30-foot mural was painted in 2007 on the south side of Conway City Hall on Front Street, facing Simon Park.
The lead artist was Morton Brown, 34, of Pittsburgh, a Clinton native and a graduate of the University of Central Arkansas. He was a UCA artist in residence. The mural was sponsored by the UCA Art Department in conjunction with the university’s centennial celebration. Input was received from the community about what to include, and the mural depicts scenes of Conway’s past.
The public art board isn’t providing money for the project.
“It doesn’t cost us anything; we’re just acting as the facilitator,” she said.
Lombardi said she is looking forward to seeing the project come to fruition, and a public reception will take place when the mural is done.
“I’ll be so thankful to see paint on the wall,” Lombardi said.
Senior writer Tammy Keith can be reached at (501) 327-0370 or tkeith@arkansasonline.com.