HALLOWELL — Three major art projects are coming to Hallowell soon: two sculptures made during the Hallowell Granite Symposium in late September, and a large mural designed by local artist Chris Cart that will welcome visitors driving past the north wall of 89 Water St.

City councilors on Nov. 8 unanimously approved a total of $5,000 in tax increment financing district funds set aside in the budget to help these projects come to fruition, with $2,000 going toward the sculptures and the remaining $3,000 funding the mural project.

The Hallowell Granite Symposium lasted 10 days and involved six sculptors each creating a unique work from start to finish with a block of granite as members of the public spectated and asked questions about the process.

From that event, artist Isabel Kelley received first place for “Bloom,” and Mark Herrington took second place with the piece “Flowing Through.”

Symposium organizers set a goal of $20,000 to purchase the sculptures and give them a permanent home at Granite City Park. Well over half of their goal had been raised by late October.

Hallowell Arts & Cultural Committee Chairperson Deb Fahy spoke to councilors on Nov. 8 about the additional funding. Councilor Diana Scully asked Fahy if she was confident that the additional $2,000 would lead to the successful conclusion of fundraising for the sculptures.

“We’ve held aside $2,000 in the Hallowell Granite Sculpture Fund and we have some other money held aside because we’d like to start building a conservation and maintenance fund for the sculptures,” said Fahy, “so if we need to, we could tap into some of that and do that in later years.”

Councilor Patrick Wynne asked Fahy who would ultimately maintain ownership of Cart’s mural, prefacing the question by saying that it was “a wonderful project and a labor of love from Mr. Cart,” and that he is “not being compensated the way that his work would typically deserve to be compensated.”

Fahy said that, with the mural being on a public building, it will be city property.

Wynne followed up by asking if any subsequent funding from the city would be needed, or if this contribution would be the last.

“This is kind of the last hurdle,” Fahy said. “If you look at the list of materials he needs, all of the glue and varnish and everything else, when he priced it a while ago it was significantly cheaper, so we’re worried that it may go up or that some things may become unavailable. So the sooner we can get it in house and have it ready for late spring when the mural is installed is really key.”

Fahy said that temperatures are key to a successful installation, and that it would likely be finished in mid-June.

Councilors then voted unanimously to approve the funding for the sculptures and mural.

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