There’s a unicorn at Rotary Park, located at 680 Millcreek Drive — two of them, actually. They are snowy white, serene of expression, lounging in a field of flowers near a stream as the sun slips behind the mountains.
They are painted on the side of a cinderblock building near the slides, part of a mural created by artist Ruth Turner as part of a public art initiative by the Moab Arts and Recreation Center (MARC).
Other murals recently created as part of the same initiative include one by Moab artist Pete “PiMo” Appicella on the outside of the bathrooms at Anonymous Park, the BMX dirt bike park on 500 West. It features a whimsical landscape upon which unusual creatures are seen riding their bikes.
A mural on the side of the Bowen Motel, 169 N. Main St., greets visitors to Moab; it was created by Victor Ving and Lisa Beggs.
“We have several other murals in progress as well,” said Makeda Barkley, art and special events assistant at the MARC. “Two are being done on the same building as the unicorn mural, one by Elizabeth Tatera and one by Henry Barker. There is also a mural in progress along the bike bath behind the Hogan Trading Company being done by Scott Brunmeier.”
Barkley said that the MARC has been hiring both established and emerging artists from the community to complete the murals around Moab. She said artists are compensated for their time and the MARC supplies materials.
“This campaign emerged from our efforts to bring the arts to the forefront of Moab’s community and culture,” she said. “The arts have been proven to provide some aspects of stability and safety in communities.”
Barkley also said that the MARC will be hosting muralist Skye Walker in October during the Red Rock Arts Festival to complete two large-scale murals in town that will be “Moab’s biggest yet.”
For more information on the murals and other art opportunities, contact the MARC at 435-259-6272
