St. Charles residents invited to paint a downtown street as part of community art project

From 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. July 30, community members are welcome to drop by and help paint the intersection of Riverside Avenue and Walnut Street

Similar to this project, the St. Charles Arts Council is organizing the Paint The Riverside community street painting project. From 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. July 30, community members are welcome to drop by and help paint the intersection of Riverside Avenue and Walnut Street in downtown St. Charles.

St. Charles residents will have the opportunity to paint the city red – along with a variety of other colors – during an upcoming community art project.

The St. Charles Arts Council is organizing the Paint The Riverside community street painting project. From 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. July 30, community members are welcome to drop by and help paint the intersection of Riverside Avenue and Walnut Street in downtown St. Charles.

Paint and brushes will be supplied. In case of rain, the event will be held on July 31.

St. Charles Arts Council Executive Director Kathryn Hill hopes the event will bring the community together to celebrate the arts.

“I was the director of an arts organization in Michigan and this is one of the projects that we used to do every year,” Hill said. “It’s colorful and it will get attention, which is a large part of what we’re trying to do, just bring attention to the arts and all the events that are happening here in St. Charles.”

As part of last month’s St. Charles Fine Art Show, people had the chance to paint a used car donated by the show’s sponsor, St. Charles Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram. Hill noted that people enjoyed the experience.

“We were coordinating that effort and it was so well received,” she said. “Kids and adults were having a lot of fun with it. I’m hopeful that this will have the same effect.”

And people will have a few months to enjoy the newly created artwork. The paint should last until the snow starts flying, Hill said.

The community street painting project follows on the heels of last year’s community art project – a fabric art piece sewn together by community members was draped over the southeast wall of the St. Charles Municipal Building. The fabric art pieces that comprised the project – called “Our City Sunshine” – were donated and sewn together by community members.

Brooklyn, New York-based artist Amanda Browder, known for her large scale fabric installations, oversaw the project.

“I’m so thrilled with the way that turned out,” Hill said.

More information about the community street painting project and the St. Charles Arts Council is available at its website, stcharlesartscouncil.org/#/