Grant County Art Association proposes business murals for downtown John Day

Published 2:00 pm Thursday, June 23, 2022

JOHN DAY — Downtown John Day is headed for a makeover.

The Grant County Art Association and various unaffiliated artists are looking to paint a number of murals on the sides of downtown businesses in a project they’re calling “Paint the town.” That proposal is in addition to the city’s ongoing efforts to revitalize and update the look of downtown John Day.

The Grant County Art Association is a nonprofit entity that has existed since 1968. Association President Elouise Boren said the association “has been strong in the community, but we’ve been silent.”

Boren presented a proposal for murals to the John Day City Council during its June 14 meeting. The proposal calls for between seven and 10 murals to be painted on the sides of various businesses along Main Street.

Designs for the murals will focus on people and events relevant to the history of Grant County, including logging, ranching, gold prospecting, Native Americans, cattle drives, rodeo and the exploits of Long Un and Doc Hay.

Boren approached the city council seeking financial support so her team of artists can begin work on the murals as soon as possible. The council unanimously approved $750 in funds that will cover paint and other materials the artists need to begin the work.

Grant County Art Association Secretary and Treasurer Kathy Kite said the group has already been in contact with a number of local business owners about painting murals on their buildings and the response has been overwhelmingly positive.

“Of course, we need building owner permission before we started in, and we would have our compositions put together for review before we started in,” she said. “We thought it could be a fun enhancement for the town.”

Kite said the idea to paint murals on businesses came up during talks between various artists and that everyone “perked up” when the idea was presented.

“It sounds like the city council is trying to get tourism to be an attraction to bring people into the area, and we thought that would fit right in; also to keep our town looking Old West, which seems to be more important all the time,” she said. “As time goes on, those things fade away.”

The artists would complete work on one mural before starting another project, according to Kite. “We aren’t going to just start drawing all over town and painting here and there.”

The city council’s immediate decision to support the project came as a surprise to Kite, She thought the body would require more convincing and that everyone might not have been on board with the idea.

“It seemed like they all thought it was a good idea,” she said. “We’re very encouraged about this. This is a huge project; we’re throwing something big out there. It felt good to be supported and that they really were behind the idea and saw the benefit in enhancing our town.”

Any businesses along Main Street that are interested in having a mural painted on their buildings can contact Boren at 541-388-4698 or Kite at 541-520-3143.