Mural Celebrating Diversity Planned For Fairfield

FAIRFIELD, CT — Plans are underway to bring a mural to Fairfield as part of a statewide effort to honor and celebrate diversity through public art.

Locally, the project is the result of a partnership between youth-led advocacy group the Fairfield Equity Coalition and Connecticut arts nonprofit RiseUP.

“It’s a way for communities to demonstrate that they are welcome and open to a diverse population,” RiseUP Executive Director Matt Conway said during a presentation Monday for the Board of Selectmen.

The Fairfield project would be part of MLK39, an undertaking launched by RiseUp to create 39 murals — one for each year of Martin Luther King Jr.’s life — in 39 Connecticut communities.

The idea for the Fairfield mural was positively received on Nextdoor, Fairfield Equity Coalition President Lynnaija Brevard said.

Although Brevard and Conway are still in the process of finding an artist and location, the mural is expected to come to fruition in three to six months, according to Conway.

Each MLK39 mural costs $15,000, and Sustainable CT is funding half the cost for most of the projects, with community fundraising paying for the rest, Conway said. The money goes to producing the mural, hosting an unveiling ceremony and holding a half-day training with the CT Center for Nonviolence. Fairfield County’s Community Foundation has already expressed interest in contributing to the effort, according to Conway.

The Board of Selectmen responded positively to the mural plan.

“I think it’s a great idea,” First Selectwoman Brenda Kupchick said, voicing particular support for the Fairfield Metro train station as a possible location.

Selectwoman Nancy Lefkowitz remarked that the mural project exemplified the healing power of the arts and their ability to bring communities together.

Selectman Tom Flynn noted that in the past the town has made an effort to ensure public art is relevant to Fairfield’s history and asked that the subject of the mural have a local connection. The artwork’s subject will be informed in part by community surveys, according to Conway.

The Board of Selectmen may later be asked to vote on the project, depending on the mural’s location, among other factors.