A vibrant new mural by local artist Abigail Fox is transforming the north side of Mancos Town Hall, adding color and life to the heart of downtown Mancos.
This project advances efforts to enhance public spaces in Mancos with art that celebrates the town’s beauty and its surrounding region. The mural is a collaboration between the Mancos Creative District and the town of Mancos.
Town Hall’s north wall was selected after a suggestion by the Mancos Creative District’s Public Art Advisory Committee. Fox was also selected by the committee to create the mural.
The Mancos Creative District annually invites artists to apply for public art projects, prioritizing those in the 81328 ZIP code. Its Public Art Advisory Committee reviews submissions based on artistic merit, the artist’s background, and the cultural relevance of the proposal. The committee also considers qualifications, past work and the piece’s contribution to diversity and authenticity in Mancos’ public art collection. Finalists are recommended to the Mancos Board of Trustees, which makes the final selection.
“The selection of artist Abby J. Fox was part of an ongoing partnership between the Mancos Creative District and the town of Mancos,” Chelsea Lunders, Mancos Creative District executive director, told The Journal.
The committee viewed the north wall of Town Hall as an ideal canvas and felt Fox’s palette, style and concept complemented both the building and its setting in Mancos.
The mural gradually comes into view for those heading south on Main Street, drawing people in as its design guides them to the entrance of the Town Hall meeting room.
“The piece will bring new vibrance to our Town Hall and to downtown as a whole, helping people connect more deeply with a building that is important to the operations of our town and that may have previously gone unnoticed,” Lunders said.
Fox, a Mancos resident living on the Western Slope since 2010, studied fine art with a focus in printmaking at Colorado State University. Influenced by her grandmother, a self-taught painter, Fox said she’s using some of her grandmother’s brushes to paint the mural.
“While I have created public art pieces in the past, this is the largest project I have taken on. I am using all four panels of the north side of the Town Hall building, and the mural will also wrap around to the front/west side,” Fox told The Journal on Friday.
“I have enjoyed playing with tessellation lately, so the mural is composed of diamond shapes, each of which features imagery of local flora and fauna,” she said. “This week I completed all of the layout, color blocking and some stenciling. Next week, I will be adding the final color and details.”
While Fox enjoys her studio, she appreciates that the mural will be visible to residents, workers and visitors in Mancos.
“I am so grateful to live in Mancos, and am happy to have this opportunity to contribute to the community,” Fox said. “I love working on projects in my studio, but it is also so meaningful to create public art for everyone to enjoy.”
Fox has illustrated two self-published books, taken on freelance illustration projects and exhibited her work in both group and solo shows.
Fox’s work will be featured at holiday markets, including the Mancos Art Market on Nov. 30 at Fenceline Cidery, the Dolores River Brewery Art Market on Dec. 6 and Telluride and Durango Noel Nights.
More information about the Mancos Creative District is online at www.mancoscreativedistrict.com.
