Mural in the making

Andrew Carranza
Allied News Staff Writer

June 30, 2009 10:57 pm

— Olde Town Grove City’s movie-themed art mural is getting a sequel this summer.
The mural, located on the side wall of the Guthrie Theater at 232 S. Broad St., features people standing in line at the side of the building, waiting to get into the theater in a style that exemplifies the 1920s through the 1940s.
Movie posters featuring various aspects of Grove City’s history are on display behind the people, as a dog and cat scurry across the painting.
The mural was completed last year by three college interns, one of whom is back to implement an additional piece to the original art work.
Ben Pannell, who came up with the idea of the movie-themed mural last year, is back this summer with two new interns, Allen Chhav and Michael Niznik, to paint a 40-foot addition to the existing 26-foot by 43-foot painting.
Pannell, 25, of Tallahassee, Fla., recently graduated with a master’s degree in painting at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art in Philadelphia and said he was excited to begin the second mural piece this summer.
“It’s nice to be back in town,” said Pannell, who arrived in Grove City on June 3. “We hope to get input and ideas for the addition from the community.”
According to Pannell, one major goal for this year’s mural is to get as much community participation as possible.
“We want to have a larger focus on the community and get more input on the design of the painting,” he explained.
The interns finalized a design and drew the sketch to actual size on a large canvas. The canvas will then be split into smaller grid squares, which will be painted by community members in a “paint-by-number” method, guided by the college interns.
When painting is complete, the students will adhere the squares to the mural wall.
Pannell said one idea for the new mural is to extend the timeline of the original piece to include the 1950s to the present.
Pannell also said he wanted to include a little girl in the new art mural who would be chasing the dog in the original art work, which he said would “mesh both pieces together.”
Last year, about 50 community members assisted with the movie mural, not counting students from George Junior Republic and Grove City Christian Academy. Pannell said he hoped to attract more people this year through events such as painting in Memorial Park and in the new youth festival park on South Broad Street.
Both of the new interns said they were excited to begin the project this summer.
“It’s going to be fun to work with local kids,” said Chhav, an architect major entering his senior year at University of Pennsylvania.
Chhav, who said he heard about the internship at a career fair at UPenn, also noted that one of the project goals is to get 10 local organizations involved with the project, which he said he was looking forward to do.
“We are just settling in now but we will be contacting schools, churches and organizations to help out,” Pannell added.
Niznik, a community development senior from Penn State University, also said he was excited to begin the project.
Niznik noted that the interns were introduced to several business owners and organizations during their first full day in Grove City on June 4.
“We hope to generate some interest in the project and get people excited,” he said.
Both Chhav, 20, of Philadelphia, and Niznik, 22, of Mechanicsburg, Pa., said they are glad they have Pannell to guide them this year.
“I like to draw and paint but nothing like the scale (Pannell) is used to,” Niznik said.
“He is kind of our unofficial leader,” Chhav agreed. “It definitely helps to have someone who was here last year.”
Last year, the interns worked out of the basement of the Guthrie, although Pannell said they would be looking for a larger space this year since the theater basement only allowed for a few people to paint at a time.
The interns have until the beginning of August to complete the mural, just in time for the Olde Town American Festival, Aug. 5 through 8.
The interns will be working on the mural for the next 10 weeks. They are staying at the new Colonial Hall Apartments at Grove City College. Olde Town manager Lisa Pritchard said the college donated the rooms to the students for the duration of the project, similar to last year.
The new art mural is funded through a $2,500 grant from the Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful organization and the Pennsylvania Downtown Center.
Olde Town Grove City is looking for community members who want to participate in the mural painting. If you would like to know more or to volunteer to help, contact Olde Town at 724-458-0301 or visit www.oldetowngrovecity.com.

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