Mural Program and Community Collaborations:

Since 2019, Laurel Arts has been building a Mural Program with the intention of bringing more public art to the Somerset area. As grants and private funding have become available, we have facilitated the collaboration between artists and business owners to create permanent and engaging art installations within the community.
Projects to date: 
2019 – In a collaboration between Laurel Arts, the 2019 Chamber of Commerce Leadership Program group, Somerset Inc., and the Somerset County Economic Development Council, artist Christine Troll was chosen to create three images to represent “America’s County.” This mural depicts images including wildlife, tourism, agriculture, Flight 93, and the Quecreek Mine Rescue and can be seen on the corner of Patriot Street and South Center Avenue, Somerset.  Funding was provided via a grant through the Community Foundation for the Alleghenies, as well as donations from Somerset Trust Company and the Somerset Jaycees.
Please click here for a link to an article in the Daily American.
2020 – The garage mural at Laurel Arts is a celebration of the Guild of American Papercutters (GAP) National Museum, which is permanently housed upstairs at the Philip Dressler Center for the Arts. This mural was a collaboration between local paper cutting artist Kathy Trexel Reed and Laurel Arts gallery committee members Peggy Black, Jane Holt, Joy Knepp, Erin Mayak, Bridget Mayak, and Susan Wilson. Kathy provided the design for the walls, artist Erin Mayak scaled and transferred the layout to the garage wall, and the entire gallery committee prepped and painted together to bring Kathy’s design to life!

2020 –  In an effort to beautify a newly installed utility box on W. Main Street in Somerset, artist Kathy Trexel Reed was commissioned to create an original and whimsical papercutting design. Laurel Arts’ partnership with the Borough of Somerset and Blue Sky Co. (Greensburg, PA) allowed the design to be printed and wrapped around the metal structure.  Funding was provided by the 1889 Foundation.

2021 – As a playful update to the studio space at the Laurel Arts Education and Dance Center (Georgian Place), artist Erin Mayak designed and painted a colorful abstract mural that brightens up the shared creative space.
2024 – Ukranian muralist Alex Maksiov created a unique 3-D mural as part of a partnership between Laurel Arts and Somerset Inc. during the same week as the Annual Chalk the Block festival in July, 2024. Visitors to uptown Somerset had the opportunity to see Maksiov in action as he created a bespoke and nostalgia-inspired mural on the Newberry Building on Main Street in Somerset.  This project was collaboratively funded through donations raised and a grant from the 1889 Foundation.
To view a time lapse of the mural’s creation, please click here.

To view an article in the Daily American newspaper, please click here.

Those driving through uptown Somerset will notice something a little different. Somerset’s first 3D mural is being painted on the side of the historic Newberry building, 109 W. Main St., Somerset.
2024 – Local artist/art teacher and Laurel Arts Board of Directors member Erin Mayak created a botanical mural on the Mindful Body and Wellness building on Union Street in Somerset. The detailed design incorporated flowers that were significant to the business owners Madalyn and Michael Mitchell and their clients. This mural was made possible by a grant from the 1889 Foundation.