Bright shades of purple, yellow and orange blanket the corner of the annex in Granville, adding pops of color to an otherwise-brick building.
The Gateway mural, adorning the entrance to the Granville Center for the Arts, was completed in September 2024 as part of a collaboration between the center and Ohio artist and muralist Dillon Beck.
Nearly 18 months later, the mural represents something more: a colorful tapestry welcoming the community.
In 2026, the Gateway mural will be proudly featured as part of the America 250-Ohio celebration, a “multi-year commemoration where Ohioans from all 88 counties will be in the spotlight of the impact [of] Ohio’s unique role in our nation’s story,” according to the America 250-Ohio’s website.
Gateway is one of several murals selected to represent communities in Licking County as part of the “Murals Across Ohio” campaign, part of the America 250 semiquincentennial celebration. Other murals, located in Hebron, Newark and Utica, highlight the history of Licking County.
The idea for the mural did not exist until co-founder of the arts center, Ryan McGuire, reached out to Beck for the collaboration.
“I painted the background, and I got a volunteer to help me a little bit,” McGuire explained. “I did all of the prep work…and then [Dillon] came in and did his detail-oriented arches and doorways.”
The mural was yet another artistic addition added to the colorful landscape of the Granville Center for the Arts. A completely volunteer-run nonprofit, the arts center hosts regular events, clubs, poetry readings, and a plethora of other art-based activities. Its programming is all free to the public.
McGuire noted that the mural was another step in getting more people of different ages and backgrounds invested in the arts center.
“I’m a big advocate of…think[ing] about [the arts center] as a global space,” McGuire said. “And you want it to be welcoming, because we welcome a lot of families, children…older people, and you want to make sure that they feel safe coming into it.”
The mural underwent numerous stages of approval. The United Church of Granville, which owns the building in which the arts center resides, had mixed feelings about adding public-facing art to their building.
Pastor Alissia Thompson was one advocate for the artistic vision. While some United Church of Granville board members were worried about the artistic clashes between the old stone church and the bright mural, Thompson loved the color and life Gateway would bring to the annex.
“So over a period of weeks…we had two different mock-ups that Ryan provided, and it was really cool because he put the mock-up on the building as it would show next to the church,” Thompson said. “And so we brought it to the church over several weeks, and said, ‘Look, we’re interested in doing this. What do you all think?’ Finally, we got to a place where it was like ‘that’s the one!,’ and went back to Ryan, and we [said] ‘let’s do it.’”
Thompson also noted to fellow board members that the mural was ultimately “just paint…And if at some point we decided that it didn’t suit us anymore or we didn’t like it…we could paint over it.”
The United Church of Granville was also careful to consider how the mural’s imagery and tone aligned with the church’s messaging and values.
According to the United Church of Granville’s website, the church has been a huge proponent of women’s rights and civil rights in its lifetime. The mural, with its expressive design, complimented the church’s mission of advocacy, stewardship and progress.
For Thompson, the mural was a must-have because “Historically, there have been so many ways in which the church has shown up in the public square and been part of witness for justice, we’ve always taken that risk,” Thompson said. “It’s part of the fabric of who we are, and so to put a bright mural on an outside of a building was like…why wouldn’t we do that?”
The board voted in favor, and the United Church of Granville moved forward with its construction.
Since then, the mural has mostly received positive feedback from the community.
And for some in Granville, the mural and the arts center is a sign of much appreciated community change.
Longtime Granville resident Olivia Boucher loves her small town. Growing up, there weren’t many creative outlets, and kids like Boucher found it hard to stay in town.
“Growing up here…I would say there was [historical] art. There were a lot of art galleries around, but…as a kid, we were so bored here,” Boucher said. “You had to go to Columbus or Easton to do anything fun. You didn’t want to stay in Granville, because as a kid you were bored, especially when you got into high school.”
Now, she loves watching kids interact with the new arts center and the mural.
“I have watched so many people — and so many young people — get excited about art and stop on the street to take pictures in front of the mural, to talk about the mural,” Boucher said. “You drive past and you’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, what is that?’”
Granville resident Julie York runs a painting club in the arts center once a month. The center has afforded her opportunities to practice her reignited passion for art that she might not have otherwise had, including teaching and collaborating with fellow local artists. She also believes art like the mural gives people the inspiration to reflect and engage with the world around them.
“Public art is so important because everyone has access to it, and everyone should be able to have access to art…I’ve always been drawn to art museums, public art spaces, because art is communal,” York said. “It is a way to engage socially. It’s a way to help people think critically and creatively. And we need that. We need that in our world more than ever.”
As its programming continues to grow, the arts center hopes to cement itself as a community bastion of accessible art, drawing closer together the Granville community and beyond.
“Come and do watercolor with us. And if kids are squeezing half the paint into their little trays, we don’t bat an eye, because nope, we got it,” said Boucher. “It’s free. It’s fun. It’s these kids getting exposed to art. And that’s what I want to raise my son in. [It’s] a space that is just so important and so valued.”
Natalie Isberg writes for TheReportingProject.org, the nonprofit news organization of Denison University’s Journalism program, which is supported by generous donations from readers. Sign up for The Reporting Project newsletter here.