Brightening Brownsville
Holtz, Ryan, Winegar team up to make downtown mural a reality By Christine Haines BROWNSVILLE – Artist Allyson Holtz of Pittsburgh first considered a mural to brighten Brownsville several years ago when she was the art instructor at the State Correctional Institution at Fayette when it first opened, but at the time, there was no funding to carry out the project. “Obviously, this community is in need of a lot. I thought this would be a great opportunity to match up the inmates and the community. Then I left the job,” Holtz said.
Holtz is now serving as the artist in residence in Brownsville and in several other communities throughout the state. She is working with the Brownsville Cultural Group organized by the Brownsville Area Revitalization Corp. (BARC) and former BARC president Norma Ryan.
“I saw there were monies available through the Gateway to the Arts and the Benedum Foundation. Now there was funding available, so I contacted Norma about doing the project we had discussed so long ago,” Holtz said.
According to Ryan, the 10-member committee includes local residents between the ages of 14 and 92. The group has been meeting weekly since March to discuss the project, determining the content and location of the mural. Ryan said the Gateway to the Arts program encourages multi-generational projects. The group also put the base coat of paint on five-by-five foot squares of parachute-like material that is being used for the mural.
The local committee is working with the Art and Restorative Justice program at SCI-Fayette, which is now under the direction of James Winegar. Winegar said he has been working with nine inmates at the maximum-security prison to complete the project. The inmates rescaled the mural and are now painting each of the squares that will make up the finished 20×36 foot mural.
“We are on a pretty tight time schedule because they have decided in the state to discontinue the art program as of the end of (June),” Winegar said.
Winegar said the inmates have been excited to be working on a project to help the community.
“This allows them to utilize their talents, utilize their efforts, and do something positive for the community,” Winegar said. “These guys are searching for something to do with their lives, and this is something very positive.”
Winegar said that while his job is as an art instructor, he really teaches problem solving. Winegar said studies have shown that inmates who participate in programs in the arts while imprisoned are one third less likely to return to prison after their release.
“Art specifically gives them an outlet to direct their emotions, direct their passions, and is very positive,” Winegar said.
The new mural will be placed on the wall of the American Legion Post 295, facing Market Street in downtown Brownsville. The mural will look like an open book, with a reproduction of a painting of the Cast Iron Bridge as it looked in 1839 when it was built on the left-hand page and “Historic Brownsville Welcomes You” on the facing page. Winegar found the old painting of the Cast Iron Bridge in the National Archives.
The new mural, which is expected to be assembled and put into place by the end of August, will replace an existing mural on the American Legion building.
Ryan said the cultural group would like to work with students at Brownsville Area High School to restore the old mural and to find a new location for the restored painting.
Committee member Kelly Tunney, 18, said he is looking forward to working on additional projects for the community.
“This was just a great start. There is a lot we can do around here,” Tunney said.