Local artist and Professor of Art at Lyon College, Dustyn Bork, designed and painted a large scale colorful mural promoting peace, social justice, and to help our community of Batesville to come together — the UNITY mural.
Bork designed the image with the help of his wife Carly Dahl the executive director at the Batesville Area Arts Council. Bork was frustrated by the negativity in the news, social injustices, and the political divisiveness, a near-constant presence on social media.
Bork said he wanted to offer a message of positivity in these uncertain and difficult times. Bork was able to raise over $1,000 on social media in just over four hours.
“That is when I knew this was a message that the community wanted, and now was the ideal time,” Bork said.
He was able to find a location for the mural at the Independence County Library, thanks to Vanessa Adams and the library board.
With the help of community members, he was able to finish the paintings in about two weeks. Margo Baker, Carly Dahl, Juli Howard, Molly Mellor, and Haven Johnson helped to bring the vision to life.
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