After years of planning, the Colby Street Pocket Park Mural is finally coming to fruition! This extensive community public art project would not be possible without collaboration between the ACWL-Nuveen, CatchMark Technologies and the City of Whitehall. The City of Whitehall saw the potential of renovating the unused alleyway in the heart of downtown and transforming it into a usable public gathering space. The ACWL-Nuveen envisioned the large 12’x40’ park border wall on the CatchMark Technologies building as the perfect canvas for a lively mural. And the community-minded CatchMark company enthusiastically gave permission for the use of the wall! This consensus between the three organizations set the wheels in motion for the creation of a new signature public mural for downtown Whitehall.
Drone shot courtesy of CatchMark Technologies
The ACWL-Nuveen set out to find funding for the mural and the City of Whitehall, seeing the value of the mural, was the first to step up financially. We then approached an anonymous donor for support and set to work writing grants. We recently received the great news that we were granted $1,500 from the Great Lakes Energy People Fund and $5,000 from the White Lake Community Fund of the Community Foundation for Muskegon County. We are SO grateful for all this support!
While raising funds for the community-themed mural, the ACWL-Nuveen also started conducting in-person survey sessions asking residents to give us their impressions of Whitehall and the White Lake area as a whole. To include more voices, we created a well-received online questionnaire where both residents and visitors to the area could give their input on the White Lake area. Currently, survey feedback is being reviewed by our three finalists for the mural, Stephen Hargash, Kevin Burdick and Jubenal Rodriguez. The three finalists were selected from a pool of 42 artists who responded to our Request for Qualifications. The mural selection committee - which includes Whitehall Mayor Steve Salter, Brent Raeth of CatchMark Technologies, Beth Pierson of the White Lake Community Fund, and ACWL-Nuveen staff: Director Erin Peyer, Ian Martin and Susan Wink - selected the three finalists. The artists were chosen based on their successful mural portfolios and their ability to work with and creatively interpret the communities where their murals have been commissioned. The three finalists have a January 15 deadline to submit their unique concept drawings and proposals that have been informed by the community surveys. Once received, the Mural Selection Committee will reconvene to determine which artist will receive the commission for the new Colby Street Pocket Park Mural.
So, stay tuned – our goal is to see the mural completed and residents and tourists enjoying it, and taking selfies, by late summer 2025!
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