Downtown Olympia Murals Program
Our Downtown Mural Program aims to create engaging public art to enliven our community spaces, to create opportunity, and to highlight our buildings downtown.
The Olympia Artspace Alliance (OAA) and the City of Olympia Parking and Business Improvement Area (PBIA) collaborated in 2023 to fund the concept, design, and installment of three murals by outstanding local artists in Downtown Olympia. Our 2023 mural cohort artists are Elisa del Giudice (You Are Not Alone, Plum Street YMCA), Cameron Dunn (Native Plants of Washington State, Community Print Building) and Fern Tallos (Thomas Architecture Studio).
Downtown is home to more than 70 colorful murals (you can view an interactive map of downtown’s murals here), many of them more than thirty years old. This project also selected a fine artist team to identify and restore more than a dozen damaged murals in the downtown core. Our 2023 restoration team were incredible artists Austin Davis and Savannah Renauldi.
The ongoing goals of this program are to:
Create paid opportunities for established and emerging artists to share and develop their work
Provide mentorship and support during the development process
Create new community partnerships in downtown
Increase access to engaging and unique public art and showcase our local artistic talent
Encourage creative activity throughout our community
Applications for our 2024 Mural Program will open in late May of 2024. Stay tuned!
2023 Downtown Mural Cohort
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Elisa Del Giudice
Elisa Del Giudice—a master of op-art, hand-drawn lettering, and graphic design. She lends her skillful touch to workplaces, small businesses, residences, and more. Her creations aren't just designs but resonating stories that breathe life into brands and spaces.
“At the core of my work lies a human-centered approach, seamlessly translating ideas into impactful visual solutions. With this mindset, my approach is anything but ordinary, ensuring that every project becomes an inspired reflection of your unique vision,” she said.
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Fern Tallos
Fern Tallos is a visual artist and herbalist based in Olympia, Washington. Her paintings are heavily influenced by the plant kingdom and the natural world. She mostly creates public murals and acrylic paintings on canvas.
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Cameron Dunn
Cameron is a designer and community science advocate, most recently working as a coordinator with Native Plant Salvage Foundation. His current preferred medium is stained glass.
Slideshow prepared by Erika Naficy of Third Hand Artist Support for our Mural Celebration Artist Mingle in October 2023.