The American Civil Liberties Union of Idaho is celebrating 25 years of serving the state by creating a mural in Idaho Falls, Garden City and Moscow, conceptualizing civic activism and civil rights.
Moscow’s grant-funded mural is being created by a team of local artists and will be placed on a portion of the Moscow Hotel in downtown.
“Moscow was a great fit due to public support, as well as the Human Rights Commission that has also been around for 25 years,” said Kevin Kelpe, special projects manager and University of Idaho alumnus.
A call to action was released by the ACLU of Idaho in August, asking for Moscow artists to submit work. There were five finalists who were given a $200 stipend to come up with a site specific plan, chosen by a local committe.
The committee consisted of Carly Lilly and George Skandalos, co-owners of the Moscow Hotel, Sangria Grille and Maialina Pizzeria Napoletana, as well as Kathleen Burns, the City of Moscow Public Art director.
“Of the five artists we scored proposals based on the concept, technical ability, and how the work fit the project goal,” Kelpe said.
Moscow resident Karen Rohn, a local art teacher, and Shogo Ota, a UI graudate, were the team the committee selected to create the mural.
Production of the mural began Monday, and Ota said he hopes to complete the mural by mid-October.
A rendering of the project was shown Sept. 18 during the kickoff reception. The overall vision of the mural is to portray togetherness and the power people can have when they work together, he said.
“I hope people can see this and appreciate the theme. I hope people can come together and if they want to come together to spread a positive message they can,” Ota said.
The ACLU of Idaho’s Facebook page will be regularly updated with project information and press releases as the mural progresses in all selected cities. The ACLU of Idaho website, as well as the Moscow Department of Public Art website, will provide additional information on the project for those interested.
Clyde McCaw can be reached at [email protected]