Located at 701 Main St., the “Welcome to Sharpsburg” mural will be unveiled on Saturday, September 28 as will a new historical sculpture at James Sharp Landing acknowledging the area’s indigenous heritage.
Four years ago, Dr. Bruno Conicella of Conicella Family Dentistry in Sharpsburg told Nanci Goldberg he’d like to offer the side wall of his building for a mural.
“I told him it’d take time to find the money, so when we got this Creative Communities Cultivation Grant from Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, I knew what we were doing first,” Goldberg said.
Located at 701 Main St., the “Welcome to Sharpsburg” mural will be unveiled on Saturday, September 28 as will a new historical sculpture at James Sharp Landing acknowledging the area’s indigenous heritage.
Both art installations are funded through the PA Council on the Arts grant and projects of Artspiration, a nonprofit founded by Goldberg and dedicated to being a catalyst for community, creativity, and connection in the riverfront communities of Sharpsburg, Etna, and Millvale, through the arts.
The local artists chosen to paint the mural, Emily Paige Armstrong and Phil Seth, were selected for their concept out of 38 applicants by Artspiration’s Board of Directors and community representatives.
“They just blew us away,” Goldberg said. “They had really taken the time to look into the requirements and had done research on the town. They did their due diligence and we received a ‘thank you’ email from them for the interview. That was a big deal to my board.”
Armstrong, who moved to Sharpsburg with her sister last year, said she and Seth are “mutual colleagues in the Pittsburgh art scene” who met through Red Fishbowl Art Studios in Lawrenceville. On the lookout for opportunities to work together, the Sharpsburg mural came across their radar and they thought it would be an “awesome” project to partner on.
Being one of the newer residents in the borough and noticing the generational overlap of community members, Armstrong wanted the mural to welcome visitors and new neighbors to the community while highlighting popular spaces and places among longtime residents. After she and Seth found out they were awarded the mural, they hosted two community engagements for youth and adults and asked questions about their love for Sharpsburg.
Some of the hexagons that were incorporated into the mural feature images created by kids in the neighborhood, like the pizza.
“It made me think of how when you’re sharing food, you are finding and building community,” Armstrong said.
Before the Mural Unveiling & Community Celebration at 3:30 p.m., there will be a Sculpture Unveiling & Land Acknowledgment Ceremony at 12 p.m. at James Sharp Landing.
Created by local artist Jimmy Olson of Found and Forged, the new sculpture features two metal oars symbolizing Sharpsburg's riverside history and a nod to the indigenous people who were here first. Alongside the sculpture, a plaque will recognize that Sharpsburg sits on the traditional lands of the Seneca Nation, Onöndowa’ga, “People of the Great Hills,” part of the Iroquois Confederacy.
Artspiration worked with Miguel Sague Jr. of the Council of Three Rivers American Indian Center to create the land acknowledgement, underscoring the importance of recognizing the area’s Indigenous history. Sharpsburg Mayor Kayla Portis, a key supporter of the initiative, will participate in the ceremony, lending her voice to this important moment of reflection and respect.
Event Details:
Sculpture Unveiling & Land Acknowledgement Ceremony:
Saturday, September 28, 2024
Noon
James Sharp Landing, Sharpsburg, PA
Mural Unveiling & Community Celebration:
Saturday, September 28, 2024
3:30 p.m.
Conicella Family Dentistry, Main Street, Sharpsburg, PA
Celebration to follow on 7th Street