The next downtown Antigo mural is currently being painted on the second floor of the Thrivent building owned by Nate and Kezia Musolff. The mural was proposed back in July of 2021, and the mural artist is seeing an end in sight. The 40 square foot mural was proposed to replicate the Historic Langlade Racetrack and will consist of 6 life-size racehorses with their jockeys racing toward 5th Avenue on the east wall of the Thrivent building located at 711 5th Avenue.
“Both Kezia and I are very excited to see the mural nearing completion. We wanted to be a part of presenting Antigo history, and in this case, a lesser-known aspect. Horse racing was a big part of Antigo back in the day.” said Nate (building owner). “Having our own touch is fun for us. The horse’s numbers have personal meaning to us. Kezia, along with her family, raised several horses during her childhood as well. We would like to thank AVA and everyone else who is a part of this project.”
“We’ve made great progress this month,” said Linda Robinson, lead artist, “we are hoping to have it done by the end of this month, to be hung in July.”
Linda is a member of Antigo Visual Arts (AVA) Public Art Committee, created by AVA members with the idea of beautifying our city. With the help of the City of Antigo and Langlade County Economic Development, AVA’s push for murals downtown became reality with the city setting aside $5000 of a facade grant. Grant money will be utilized on a per project basis, with a percentage (up to a maximum of $1000 per mural project) made available by the city toward the cost of materials/supplies and the rental of necessary lift equipment.
AVA Public Art is growing in our community and encompasses projects such as the Sitting Pretty Fundraiser, the Downtown Mural Project, and the Plastic Bottle Cap Project collaborated with the Antigo Public Library. Aside from the city setting aside façade grant funds, other contributors have included CoVantage Credit Union, the Remington Foundation, and Neve’s Furniture.
