Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry Proclaims Make It Your Own Day
FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry announced today, Friday, Sept. 18, is Make It Your Own Day in the City of Fort Wayne. This proclamation honors the final day of Make It Your Own Mural Fest.
Over 11 days, 11 talented artists installed 11 high-quality murals—one in each of the 11 counties of Northeast Indiana. The regional mural festival concept, the first of its kind in the state, is an innovative, creative activation of the Make It Your Own brand intended to enhance the region’s efforts to drive talent attraction, talent retention and tourism by investing in quality of place assets and public art.
Mural Fest also featured participation from 12 aspiring artists as part of the Mentorship Program. The Mentorship Program provided hands-on learning and valuable experience installing a large-scale mural project. From preparing materials to installation, each mentee helped their assigned artists with the mural installation.
The Mayoral proclamation states:
“WHEREAS, the City of Fort Wayne in the State of Indiana has significant interest in attracting and retaining talent and businesses to ensure continued growth and vitality; and
WHEREAS, the Make It Your Own brand has made a noteworthy impact on authentically marketing Fort Wayne and Northeast Indiana as a home that has it all: exceptional growth opportunities, unparalleled quality of life and competitive cost of living; and
WHEREAS, 11 high-quality, large-scale displays of public art have been created throughout Northeast Indiana, including a world-class mural in the City of Fort Wayne, which depict the unique attributes and amenities our regional communities offer; and
WHEREAS, investment in public art and the quality of place of our communities is critical for future population growth and the attraction and retention of businesses; and
WHEREAS, residents of Fort Wayne and Northeast Indiana offer the opportunity to live life at a higher standard and truly make this community their own.”
“Offering an excellent quality of life is essential to attracting the high-paying jobs and the talented workers that will keep Fort Wayne competitive and desirable for generations to come. Investing in quality of place amenities and being home to unique attractions like the Make It Your Own Mural Fest continue to position the City of Fort Wayne and Northeast Indiana competitively to attract and retain talent and businesses. Collectively, we’ve become a point of destination, and we are now telling our story on a national stage,” said Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry.
Mural Fest organizers also invite all Northeast Indiana residents and visitors to enjoy the 11 public murals created through Mural Fest and to take part in a social media photo contest.
Individuals are encouraged to participate by taking a photo with any of the 11 Make It Your Own Murals located throughout Northeast Indiana and sharing the photo on Facebook or Instagram with three hashtags by Sunday, Oct. 18. Those who participate by using the hashtags #MakeItYourOwnNEI #NEIpride #yes are automatically entered to win one of five prize packages totaling over to $2,500 in regional prizes. To learn more, visit the website at www.NEIMuralFestival.com.
The Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership, in collaboration with Arts United of Greater Fort Wayne, Inc., launched the regional mural festival on September 8. Mural Fest was supported through sponsorships or grants from 3Rivers Federal Credit Union, Ruoff Mortgage, Ambassador Enterprises, Flagstar Bank, NIPSCO and the NiSource Foundation, Farmers & Merchants State Bank, Cole Foundation, Fort Wayne Public Art Commission through the City of Fort Wayne, Canterbury School, Avangrid Foundation, MacAllister Rentals, Hagerman Construction, Downtown Improvement District and media sponsor WPTA. Activities were also made possible in part by Arts United of Greater Fort Wayne, Inc. and the Indiana Arts Commission, which receives support from the State of Indiana and the National Endowment for the Arts.
For more information on Make It Your Own Mural Fest, visit the website at www.NEIMuralFestival.com.
About the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership
The Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership’s mission is to build, market and sell Northeast Indiana to increase business investment. Founded in 2006, the private partnership strives to build a globally competitive region. The Partnership’s Vision 2030 framework supports collaborative regional efforts to increase per capita income, population growth and educational attainment by focusing on business attraction, talent attraction and talent development. The Partnership represents 11 member counties: Adams, Allen, DeKalb, Huntington, Kosciusko, LaGrange, Noble, Steuben, Wabash, Wells and Whitley. For more information, visit www.neindiana.com.
About Arts United of Greater Fort Wayne
Arts United of Greater Fort Wayne, Inc. is a non-profit united arts fund and local arts agency that serves the communities of northeast Indiana by fueling the momentum of more than 70 arts, culture and quality of life initiatives each year. Arts United’s strategic investments position arts and culture organizations to achieve higher levels of excellence and quality, to improve access to the arts for all community members and to support regional priorities for growth and development. For more information, visit www.artsunited.org.
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MEDIA CONTACT:
Kate Virag
Vice President of Marketing & Strategic Communications
Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership
260.414.2431
kate@NEIndiana.com
