A new downtown mural is planned

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By VICKI BROWN

A mural has been scheduled to be painted in downtown Walterboro starting this week.

As a part of the WHAM! Festival and in preparation of the upcoming Rice Festival, Walterboro’s Tourism and Development Departments and the Colleton Museum have joined together for the mural project.

It will be painted on the side of a building currently owned by S.C. Senator Margie Bright Matthews’ building at the intersection of East Washington Street and Walter Street in Historic Downtown Walterboro.

Ian Dillinger is the artist who has been chosen to paint the Mural. Presently, he is the manager of the Farmer’s Market.

Dillinger is a South Carolina native who studied art education at the University of South Carolina in Columbia. He also studied sculpture at Duncan of Jordonstone College of Art.

According to Dillinger, he finds rural life fascinating. His art provides an insight into the culture and traditions of rural areas. His goal for the mural is to have the work under way as a part of the WHAM! Festival and have it completed before Rice Festival if the weather permits.

According to Hank Amundson, Assistant City manager, the partners have been looking at ways to bring public art into the City and a way to beautify areas often overlooked.

City officials have been working to make the Historic Downtown more inviting and vibrant for several years, and the mural project is just one more avenue towards that goal, said Amundson.

The mural project has been in the idea and planning stages for quite a while. Multiple designs were created and considered by the core Mural Committee.

In the end, the classic Lowcountry silhouette ‘Welcome to Walterboro’ design was finalized by the group and approved by city council.

In the past year, Keep Walterboro Beautiful, formerly the City Appearance Board, joined the partnership and helped push it forward. Dana Cheney chairs that board and works with members Helen T. Bodison, Talika Mock, David Nay, Darlene Allen, Deborah Rodriguez, Henry Hiott, and Ladson Fishburne.

Major contributors for the mural are: Palmetto Pride as part of their grant to the City’s Keep Walterboro Beautiful initiative, the Colleton Museum as part of their South Carolina Arts Commission programming, The Local chapter of the SC Bar Association, The City of Walterboro, and Enterprise Bank. There are some smaller private donations that contributed as well.

“Hopefully, this is the first of many in the future,” said Amundson. “We are excited about this project and the many ways we can make Walterboro a better place to live, work.”