The side of Fort Andross in Brunswick where the new 1,400-square-foot mural will be installed this summer. Courtesy of Brunswick Public Art
A new, 1,400-square-foot piece of public art will soon be coming to Brunswick.
The three-story mural will be installed during the summer of 2022 on the exterior south wall of the Fort Andross Mill. It is the latest project by Brunswick Public Art, an organization established in 2010 with the goal of promoting and placing public artwork throughout town.
The piece, titled “Many Stitches,” will portray “the historical use of the site, and contemporary themes of creative commerce, diversity, community cooperation, peace and environmental sustainability,” according to a release from Brunswick Public Art.
A preliminary sketch design of the mural. The final installed version will be in color. Courtesy of Brunswick Public Art
A preliminary design of the mural depicts people sewing, painting and doing other tasks. The landscape includes a representation of the mill and the Androscoggin River as well as an array of trees, houses and wildlife.
“The main theme is one of diversity and community building,” said Project Manager Steve Weems. “That’s the significance of the artwork, to evoke those ideas and themes in those that look at it.”
The project’s budget is $65,000, and according to Weems, Brunswick Public Art is approximately halfway through the fundraising process.
The mural will be visible from U.S. Route 1 as well as Cabot Street and is being designed to last 20 years or more. It’s a project that has been in the works for many years, Weems said, and was gaining momentum before the pandemic temporarily sidelined plans
“A community has to have beauty as part of its DNA, or just part of its character,” Weems said. “Public art is an obvious way to create a certain type of beauty in a community setting.”
The artists that were selected for the project are Christopher Cart and Jen Greta Cart of Hallowell. Both experienced muralists, the couple also created the “Dance of Two Cultures,” a piece of public art installed on Pleasant Street in Brunswick in 2008.
“For me the message really is that people make the world that they live in, that all of us working together – we make our world,” said Jen Greta Cart of “Many Stitches.” “We make the way it’s going to feel to us, and how we live in it together.”
Artists Christopher Cart and Jen Greta Cart of Hallowell. Courtesy of Jen Greta Cart
Four of the five people depicted in the preliminary design are modeled after actual Brunswick residents, the Carts said, adding that this is by far the largest piece they’ve ever worked on.
“The figures are larger than life,” said Christopher Cart. “Their heads are probably two or two and a half feet across.”
The wall the mural will be installed on is corrugated, and according to the Carts, one challenge will be adapting the artwork to proportionally fit that surface. The piece will be created in smaller sections at the Carts’ studio in Hallowell, scaled about 13% wider to account for the wall’s texture, then transported and pieced to the building with an industrial-strength adhesive.
Fort Andross was originally established in 1688 as a trading post for fur trappers and as a fortress during King William’s war, according to Waterfront Maine, a company founded by Coleman Burke, who bought the building in 1986. Burke will also be depicted in the mural.
Over its history, the building was put to use as a cotton mill and for textile manufacturing. Today, the fort serves as a 125,000-square-foot office complex.
“We want to help contribute to the betterment of the community, and we think a big piece of impressive and meaningful art will resonate,” said Waterfront Maine President Christopher Flagg. “I’m proud to have the design on our building.”
When complete, the mural will be the 22nd installation by Brunswick Public Art. For more information or to donate, visit BrunswickPublicArt.org.
This story was updated 10:10 a.m. Feb. 7, 2022 to correct the spelling of Coleman Burke’s last name.
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