Local artists bring to life America 250 Mural in downtown Fargo
FARGO, N.D. (KVRR) — This year marks America’s 250th year of independence, and to honor the celebration, Folkways has brought together local artists to paint a mural in Downtown Fargo.
“Last winter, we saw the opportunity to apply for a grant from the North Dakota State Historical Society for America’s 250th. And I kind of put these two parts of my identity together, being a mural artist and having tattoos from Meg Felix that are American traditional, I thought that the two concepts together would make a really cool mural that would be really impactful and would be a great fit for the grant,” said Lesleyanne Wild, Programming Curator at Folkways.
The North Dakota State Historical Society Grant offered $10,000 for the work. They also received $7,500 through support from Visit Fargo-Moorhead. And most recently received $10,000. The mural itself is estimated to cost around $30,000.
“A couple of years ago, I did a really big Lady Liberty chest piece on Dex, which was a very patriotic piece, and it was kind of ironic that I was asked to be a part of this. And I was just tattooing one day, and they came in and asked me if I wanted to be a part of trying to apply for this grant,” said Meg Felix, Tattoo Artist at Her and Now. “And we got it, and it was just kind of moving forward from there.”
The design will feature Americana imagery in the American Traditional tattoo style, including an eagle on a shield of arms, Lady Liberty, and the iconic North Dakota bison on a VFW crest.
While the mural is celebrating 250 years, it is also a recognition of veterans’ service.
“For veterans being able to be seen and be respected and honored, for people to come and gather, and you know be in awe by this and take photos in front of it. And just celebrate public art,” said Wild.
“It gets to be on the back of the VFW and to hopefully represent our veterans well, it isn’t something I take too lightly. So all of it is a really big honor, and I’m really just grateful to be here,” said Felix.
The mural is still a work in progress, but they hope to have it completed by the end of June.
