Mural Concepts In, Party Begins for Lansdale Arts Program

With 12 artists and 24 submissions, the call for artists stage of the Lansdale Mural Arts Program has been completed. 

The 12 artists have been whittled down to two, and now the public will say what they want to see on the side of Tabora Farms at Railroad Plaza and McQuillin Studio at Broad and Main streets.

Lansdale Business Association President Doug DiPasquale updated the public on L-MAP at Tuesday night's Lansdale town hall at the parks and recreation building. He said the L-MAP Committee looked at 24 layouts of various concepts for the murals.

"Some were ideas on what (the artist) did in the past, and not of the actual building itself," he said. "Some were history photos, and the committee didn't think it would be good for a mural. Anybody can project history from the past."

The beatification project is by Lansdale Business Association—Lansdale Borough plays no role, except to ensure no advertisements appear in the murals.

"The two artists were chosen for specific reasons for each building—if they were flipped, it wouldn't work," DiPasquale said.

Party On, Paint On

What happens now in the L-MAP is this: Party down.

At the June 8 Monte Carlo Murals Masquerade fundraiser, there will be an unveiling of the designs for the proposed murals. There, the public can input on what they favor on the buildings.

"We narrow it down and let the whole group decide. That's where we're at," he said.

The LBA masquerade is open to the public at $50 a ticket. The event is at Marjeane Caterers. Ticket includes four-hour open bar, hours of unlimited hors d’ouvres and desserts, and activities, such as casino games, silent auction, DJ and dancing.

You can buy a ticket to the Masquerade here.

L-MAP's Annette Wilson said the fundraiser will feature an exclusive huge prize drawing, with a 1 in 500 chance of winning. Winner must be in attendance. The masquerade runs to 11 p.m., so get going, Gatsby.

Donations can be made right now. There is an LBA mixer event on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. at Lansdale Tavern. 

Another chance at donating occurs on Lansdale Day June 1 and First Friday on June 7 at the Lansdale Business Association tent 

Once two favorite designs are selected—one for each artist—selected designs will be modified by the buildings' owners: Joe McQuillin, and the Ross Family, who owns the building housing Tabora Farms.

"Joe (McQuillin) saw one and tweaked it to what he wanted," DiPasquale said.

Wilson said the call for artists resulted in a diverse collection of concepts for the murals. All submissions will be filed for future consideration in coming years.

"What I've seen of the art," DiPasquale said, "it is very, very well done. I hope we have the budget enough where we can get two years' worth of murals. I don't see more than two years happening. You don't want to dilute it."

DiPasquale said the LBA has viewed a projection of a portion of the artwork as it would be viewed on either building.

"The exciting part will be to see what the whole building will look like because they gave us a tease," he said.

Safety and Security First

At the town hall session, resident Jean Fritz asked how the mural will work on McQuillin's building with all the windows. DiPasquale said the artist took the windows into account and incorporated them into his or her concept.

"At Tabora Farm, they took into account the door and put in a doorway into the work," he said. "The artists have a unique mind."

Before any murals come to life, the L-MAP Committee must work on prepping the buildings for the murals, which includes powerwashing and priming. 

This brings in the question of insurances and liabilities and safety. DiPasquale said there were some logistics to work out, specifically with scaffolding on the sidewalks.

He said LBA has an extra rider on its insurance. An agent is looking into insuring the murals in case of fire or damage to the buildings.

"If we use a painting company, like Sinn Painting, Sinn Painting will do the prep work and have a separate liability," DiPasquale said.

As far as security goes, there are cameras that point at Tabora Farms from Madison Street and the building at Broad and Main.

Furthermore, LBA has set a budget to keep up with maintenance for the murals. DiPasquale expected the murals to be painted with a vandal-proof special paint.

He said the owners of the building have committed to fix anything that needs to be done with the exteriors.

"The artists looked at the buildings to see if they need to do anything, and both buildings are in good shape," DiPasquale said. "There was some concern with the McQuillin building because it is old and has stucco."

Borough Manager Timi Kirchner, in attendance at the town hall meeting, said there has been many a debate—and many a buck made by small contractors—on whether to paint or not paint brick facades.

DiPasquale said LBA member Ellen Foulke has been in contact with Lehigh Valley Community Mural Project on the preparation and expectations on a mural in a downtown area.

Other buildings have been considered for the mural, such as the side of the building facing the parking lot at Susquehanna Avenue and Main Street. 

"We did contact Rite Aid," said DiPasquale, referring to the drugstore at Broad and Main streets. "They did not respond to anything we wanted to do."