SPRINGFIELD – The City of Firsts has a new coat of paint – or at least nine locations in the downtown do.

More than 20,000 square feet of space is now adorned with original works of art.

The Fresh Paint program has largely concluded with new murals adorning the following locations: State Street & the I-91 underpass, painted by John Simpson from Springfield; 159 State Street, painted by Damien Mitchell from New York City; 2 Spring Street, painted by Nero from Springfield; Skyview Downtown (formerly Chestnut Park) Parking Garage, painted by GoodSpace Murals from Minneapolis, MN; 8-12 Stearns Square, painted by Kim Carlino from Northampton; the Taylor Street Parking Garage, painted by Priya and Andrae Green from Springfield; Taylor & Main streets and Hampden & Main streets, painted by Colectivo Morivivi from Puerto Rico; the East Columbus Parking Garage, painted by Wane One from New York City; and the Union Station Concourse, painted by Ryan Murray.  

The works include abstract paintings, portraits of residents, seascapes and tributes to Dr. Seuss and Springfield’s connection to basketball.

The mural festival was the first of its kind for the city and Karen Finn, executive director of the Springfield Cultural Partnership, told Reminder Publishing she hopes another group of artists and building owners will create more public artworks next year.

She admitted that some building owners were hesitant about committing to the project, but now with the murals completed, people have seen the impact the program made on the neighborhood.

Finn said the project was made possible through its many sponsors – but also the 20 volunteers who helped with the installations.

She said what excited her was to see people at the Fresh Paint events who she had not seen previously at other cultural events downtown.

She called the business owners “the unsung heroes” of the projects and noted they did not have any choice of either artist or mural subject.

Each of the artists did research about the buildings on which he or she was working, Finn said.

In the case of Skyview Downtown – the former Chestnut Park apartments – residents of the apartment complex were depicted in the mural painted on the walls of the complex’s parking garage, Finn noted.

She said residents of the apartments came together to support the artists – who were from Minneapolis, MN – and even cooked for them.

“It was really quite spectacular,” Finn said.

One artist told Finn the experience of creating his mural “changed his life.”

Describing the impact the mural project had, Finn said, “You can’t put a price on what we saw happen organically.”

The Valley Photo Center in Tower Square is featuring photos taken during the festival and the exhibit will be on display through the end of August.

She added the project was “like a big hug for downtown.”