ABOVE: Local artist, Alexandra Hurney, works with a projector on Visit Fairmont’s newest project, a mural, which will be on display later this week. Submitted photo.

FAIRMONT– “Greetings from Fairmont, Minnesota,” a welcome message, will soon be on display via a mural courtesy of Visit Fairmont. The Convention and Visitors Bureau partnered with local arts non-profit, Imagine Martin, to create the piece of art that will showcase some of the attractions that Fairmont is known for.

Visit Fairmont’s Executive Director, Brittany Hartman, said that she wanted to display some of the things that make Fairmont unique and she thought that a mural was a great way to do so.

She came up with the idea to make it look like a vintage postcard. With an idea in mind, she contacted Imagine Martin and its mural committee, which includes local artist, Alexandra Hurney.

“Initially I was excited. She gave me a list of what she wanted to see and I sketched it up we went back and forth on a list of ideas,” Hurney said.

Hartman wanted to highlight some of what Fairmont is best known for and as a result, in the letters that spell out Fairmont are depictions of the chain of lakes, art offerings including the Fairmont Opera House, parks and recreational activities like disc golf, agriculture including farming and hunting and the Martin County courthouse.

From the time the idea was formed to now, it’s taken about a year. In order to fund the project, Visit Fairmont applied for a few grants and ultimately received two from the Schmeeckle Foundation and the Prairie Lakes Regional Arts Council

“Without them this project wouldn’t have been possible,” Hartman said.

After receiving the grants, she worked with Hurney to come up with the artwork. Hurney then painted the final design on four sheets of ACM (aluminum composite material) in her garage.

“I set them up and did two of them at a time. I projected the design on there and sketched it and then painted it,” Hurney explained.

Now recently completed, the mural is expected to go up today. It will be placed on the former Gene’s Cleaners building, which is where the Fairmont Opera House’s “Behind the Scene’s” office currently is.

“I think it’s a great location for people to see when they’re driving by and going downtown. It’s a visible building with high traffic,” Hartman said.

The mural will be placed about six feet off the ground and Hartman thinks it will lend for a good photo backdrop for residents and visitors alike.

This was not Hurney’s first art project in town. She is responsible for a large amount of the pig statutes as well as the mural on the second floor wall at the Marina Lodge and in the interactive room at the Martin County Historical Society.

“I’m originally from the Brandon/Sioux Falls area and their art community is so vibrant. It’s fun to bring art into the public’s eye more. If I can help do that it brings me joy,” she said.

For Hartman, going with a local artist was a no brainer. She acknowledged that going with a print may have been cheaper, but that partnering with a local artist supports community.

“I’m very excited to see the mural finished,” she said.

On Thursday, May 29, the Fairmont Area Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors will have a ribbon cutting ceremony at the site of the new mural.