Marlborough is creating a new mural about the city's history. How your input will help

MARLBOROUGH — The city is undertaking one of its largest public art projects, with residents being sought to help.

The so-called Mayor's Mural Project was announced earlier this month by the office of Mayor Arthur Vigeant. It will be led by professional muralist Melissa Stratton, a Westborough resident who has commissioned similar projects in Fitchburg and Hudson.

Vigeant, who announced earlier this year he would not seek re-election for an unprecedented seventh two-year term, said murals have been discussed for a long time but that he was always concerned with the messaging and maintenance of public art projects.

"There has always been talk about doing murals in the city, but my concern has always been that you can't control any content — people could start making all sorts of political murals and I didn't want to get into that," the mayor said. "The other issue is maintenance. If people start tagging it or it starts looking shabby, who is maintaining it? As a city, though, we can do that. We can control the messaging and if maintenance needs to be done on it, we can always paint over it."

The mural will be on South Bolton Street (Route 85), on a concrete wall owned by the city and across from the Dollar Tree store at 75 South Bolton St. The art installment will cover 1,300 square feet, and be 217 feet long.

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"It's really cool and I think the concept is great," Vigeant said. "This is a project we can control, (so) we are hoping it's going to be great."

Residents asked to help out

The city will host an event on Sept. 3 that will allow residents to paint squares that will eventually help with the final project, as arranged by lead artist Melissa Stratton. From noon to 3 p.m. on Union Common, the city will offer residents a chance to contribute.

"You do not need to be a master artist to help out with this, all you need to be able to do is hold a brush," Stratton said. "I've had children as young as 2 years old, and I've had grandparents all contribute to my past projects."

The mural is loosely based on the history of Marlborough, and will feature paintings of many signature buildings, including City Hall and the John Brown Bell.

Stratton said she expects the mural to be ready for installation on Oct. 22. Installation may be delayed if winter comes early.

"As a muralist, I am constantly aware that winter is coming," Stratton said. "We have a crew scheduled to start installing the mural on the wall on Oct. 22, but if winter comes early and we get a frost, that may hold the project off until spring."

The project is sponsored in part by a grant from the Marlborough Cultural Council.

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Marlborough mural project brings public art, history to downtown