Summit County communities embrace Leadership Class 32’s mural project

Photo: Peace House mural

PARK CITY, Utah — Anna Nizhoni proposed the Summit County Mural Project to Leadership Class 32 in March. They chose her project as their project for the year. The county-wide collaborative, community-minded public art initiative is called the Summit County Mural Project.

“The original goal was to do three to five murals across Summit County,” said Nizhoni. While they were planning to work with nonprofits, they have also been partnering with property owners who believe in the project’s mission to elevate Summit County’s values.

Last month, they created their first mural on an interior wall at the Peace House because they couldn’t work outside for safety reasons and privacy concerns. Ten volunteers from the leadership class joined residents and their children, as young as 4 years old, to paint a mural based on their logo and colors. Anna Nizhoni designed the artwork in a paint-by-number concept so anyone can participate. The 4-year-old girl “was having such a great time and it was just beautiful, connecting with the residents and the kids and doing it through art,” she said.

The original deadline for applying to have a mural painted on a wall has passed, but Anna Nizhoni plans to continue the project. “I didn’t anticipate the overwhelming response,” she said, “and the overwhelming positive reception to it.”

The next four projects are already in the planning stage, and now the community is invited to participate. Sign up for a time slot now to help paint a mural on the east exterior wall of the Gap store at Junction Commons on July 10 or 11. Since Junction Commons is not a non-profit, Anna Nizhoni proposed a mural she designed for her presentation at the leadership class, which highlights water and land. The mural design themed around conservation was the class favorite and won approval from Junction Commons as well. Junction Commons is providing the supplies for this mural. Anna Nizhoni expects to outline the design starting July 3 and paint the upper parts of the painting. For safety reasons no volunteers will be allowed on ladders.

Her plan is to design 2-hour time slots people can sign up for between 7 and 10 a.m. on July 10 and then all day on July 11.

One of the goals of the project is to be representative of the broader county. The most challenging part for her is time management with three additional projects are in the works around the county. “It seems as though I identified a need in the community because there’s just been so many people reaching out,” said Nizhoni. The other projects are the Summit 419 Church on Main Street in Coalville, the +7 Food Store in Kamas, which sells locally produced food, and the quiet room at the Summit County Clubhouse, which will be painted with the help of members of the Clubhouse. “Art is so therapeutic for people struggling with mental health issues like myself,” said Nizhoni. For the church in Coalville, the design is expected to reflect the rodeo, fishing and agriculture and be painted with the aid of the congregation.

The great range of mural projects was achieved through outreach by the leadership class, an incredible group of people Nizhoni is learning so much from. Being the leader of this group has opened a lot of doors. The best part of being their leader is that she is now meeting and talking to everybody in her class.

Anna Nizhoni didn’t know what the leadership class was until Peg Bodell told her about it and became her sponsor. Nizhoni was shy and reserved and thought Bodell was crazy for suggesting she should apply for the leadership class. Now she is the leader. It has given her the courage to speak at city council meetings on behalf of the arts.

Even though Nizhoni is a professional muralist, she plans to continue the project when possible and has applied for a grant so even groups without funds can apply. The website is also set up to collect donations for the mural project.