ABOVE: One of 66 hog statues created under new non-profit, Imagine Martin. In the background is a mural on the first block of Downtown Plaza- Fairmont, which will be updated soon as another of Imagine Martin’s projects.

FAIRMONT– Imagine Martin is a new non-profit that has a goal of introducing and supporting arts in Martin County. The organization is in the midst of several projects and was born out of the success of one of its first endeavors: Going Hog Wild.

Jeff Rouse, chairman of Imagine Martin, said, “With the success of Going Hog Wild, we thought it would be beneficial to our committee and for the community to be a non-profit so that we could further our projects,” Rouse said.

One of the first things the non-profit will allow them to do is complete phase three of Going Hog Wild. To date 66 hog statues are scattered across the county and 35 more are planned for phase three, which will end that project with 101 hog statues representing businesses and organizations in nearly all cities in the county.

However, instead of naming the non-profit Going Hog Wild, Rouse said they decided to give it a different name so that it allows them to do more for the community in the future, rather than being only associated with hogs. It also allows them to expand to different types of art.

“When we’re talking art, we’re not just talking art work. Art can be interpreted as music, events, activities and the like,” Rouse said.

So far a few committees are being formed which will focus on projects in different areas of art. Rouse said Imagine Martin currently has five projects in the works. Phase three of Going Hog Wild is one of them, as well as a series of walking tours of the statues. A “swine and wine” painting event is being planned along with a promotional music video.

Another of Imagine Martin’s main projects is updating the mural on the first block of Downtown Plaza in Fairmont. The mural, which was completed in the fall of 2021, will be reworked and created out of a different medium so that it will hold up better in the different weather experienced here.

In order to help fund the project, a grant was secured through Fairmont Economic Development Authority’s (FEDA) new facade loan program. Rouse said that they wouldn’t have considered updating it quite yet but that the loan, which covers up to $5,000 of 50 percent of the project, wasn’t something that they could pass up.

“Now seemed to be the perfect opportunity for us to make some changes and improvements to that,” Rouse said.

Fairmont’s Economic Development Coordinator, Ned Koppen, said that he thinks the current art work, including the murals and the hog statues from Going Hog Wild, lend a unique and appealing aspect to downtown Fairmont and anywhere else they exist in the community.

“I’m excited to be involved in a small way in moving that forward,” Koppen said.

Rouse said that both Koppen and the county’s EDA consultant, Joshua Schuetz, have been very helpful in helping Imagine Martin line up organizations to talk to and find funding sources.

Imagine Martin will have seven board members. So far there are six, which includes artists and representatives from local businesses and organizations in the community. One more board members is still being sought to complete the board.

“We feel like we can really help develop arts projects for the whole county,” Rouse said.

He acknowledged that there are other successful non-profits in the area doing similar work and that Imagine Martin doesn’t want to compete, but rather partner and work together where they can.

“If somebody has an idea or concept, contact us because we have 20 artists at our disposal. We can put a call out to see who will be interested in doing the project. By being a non-profit, we’re hoping to be able to help out financially and work to make this happen for everybody,” Rouse said.