Monterey mural debuted

A big, bold, beautiful eagle has taken residence in downtown Monterey!

It signifies pride in the heritage and inspiration for the future of this rural Pulaski County community. The grand mural is prominently displayed on the side of the Denton building at the 4-way stop downtown.

PCT and the artist, Zach Medler, met with Monterey community members to gather initial ideas that would have significance and then put some concepts out to public vote.

The eagle was by far the people's choice.

The mural was designed by West Lafayette artist, Zach Medler. A public dedication was held during the annual Monterey Days Festival on Saturday, September 3.

During his dedication comments, Zach noted, "The eagle is a metaphor for resilience representing small communities. The eagles were here and then gone for a period of time, and now they're back. The plants are native Indiana wetland

plants including cardinal flower, goldenrod, evening primrose, and swamp verbena."

"We wanted the mural to be representative of the time when the community comes together to celebrate Monterey days and Zach did an excellent job of delivering on that," noted PCT President, Brandi Larkin.

The location was chosen due to the park that is across from it and it is a place most people traveling through will have to stop for a moment. Much gratitude to the building owner, Darlene Denton, for so graciously allowing us to partner with her on the placement of the artwork.

Darlene reflected, "Not only did we get art, but we made new friends too."

To celebrate the dedication and the impact of art, Zach graced us with his talent prior to the dedication creating two miniature murals for the public to enjoy. One was auctioned off to support future PCT placemaking efforts and the other will be on display on the west side of the Winamac Town Park as a continuation of artwork placed for the ongoing Art in the Park project.

This is another effort led by the Pulaski County Tribe with the mission to create artwork that embraces the pace and natural resources of Pulaski County. We appreciate the partnership of Darlene Denton, Doug Denton, the Monterey Town Council, and the Monterey Days Festival. We look forward to future opportunities to work together to enhance and embrace Pulaski County.

PCT is the proud recipient of an Indiana Arts Commission and The Arts Federation grant that helped make this project possible

Pulaski County Tribe is a non-profit organization in Pulaski County. Their mission is to communicate, collaborate, and celebrate among all communities in Pulaski County for the greater good of residents and guests. The organization serves as a channel that brings together organizations, businesses, and residents to positively impact communities in Pulaski County.

You can learn more about PCT at www.pulaskicountytribe.com. To contact the organization, you can email pulaskicountytribe@gmail.com .