Aside from putting lights back on the blue bridge, establishing downtown Owensboro as an entertainment district and developing a mile-long walking and biking path for residents to use, Assistant City Manager Lelan Hancock has been working on a fourth component of his year-long OBKY Project. By implementing a downtown mural project, Hancock hopes to add a creative spin to downtown Owensboro, making it an even higher-quality place to spend time and visit.
Hancock said he will be utilizing the artistic talents of two local artists to showcase the creativity and culture of Owensboro.
There’s a lot of moving parts to this project, including the selection of local artists, developing the ideas and designs for the murals, creating a committee to help paint the murals, and finding businesses that give the OK to let their buildings be used as canvases.
“I’ve got two artists collected and one location verified,” Hancock said. “As of now, we’re still waiting on another location to verify.”
Hancock also has designs for both murals, developed by the artists who will oversee their respective projects.
“We have two renderings from the artists. One is going to be more Owensboro-based and will represent what is reminiscent of Owensboro — ROMP, football games, other activities that are popular here and that represent this city,” Hancock said. “The other mural may have more of a broader Kentucky focus.”
Both artists’ renderings have their own individual styles that will make the murals very different from one another, Hancock said.
“Both artists have done really unique, really incredible jobs on these designs,” he said.
Hancock said he would have an official update for the murals in the near future, once a second location has been selected and verified.
