Public Art
Painting Our Future in 2026 and Beyond
In 2026, Downtown Wytheville will complete a generational community mural created in partnership with the Round the Mountain Southwest Virginia Artisan Network. This project is part of a regional initiative celebrating the culture, creativity, and strong sense of place that define Southwest Virginia. Most importantly, this mural will be shaped by our community. We have launched a public engagement survey, linked on this page, inviting residents, artists, and visitors to help guide the vision and story behind the mural (open until Feb 4th).
This community mural will also kick off the new Downtown Wytheville Mural Trail. With support from a Virginia Main Street grant, multiple new murals and public art pieces will begin appearing across downtown in 2026. Together, they will create a growing, walkable collection of art that highlights local talent, supports downtown businesses, and adds to the character and creative energy of our downtown.
Public art is a key part of our long-term strategy for downtown. Through hands-on engagement, arts education opportunities, and collaboration with local and regional artists, we are using art to build pride, celebrate creativity, and strengthen Wytheville’s unique sense of place.
We welcome everyone to be part of this work. Building owners interested in hosting public art on their properties, artists interested in working on future projects, and businesses or organizations looking to sponsor or partner in growing downtown’s arts scene are encouraged to reach out to our Executive Director and get involved.
We’re Always Seeking Artists & Supporters of the Arts to Grow Our Public Art Scene in Downtown Wytheville
Downtown Wytheville maintains an inventory of available walls and buildings for public art. If you’re an artist interested in being considered for future public art projects or have an artistic vision for a spot downtown, please contact us with some examples of your previous work.
Public Art projects downtown move forward when we are able to acquire funding to create and maintain these works of art, and while we are constantly searching for grant funds to allow this, we are always grateful to donors and sponsors who are willing to invest in artists and our community to kickstart these projects. If you’d like to talk about ways to help become a partner in promoting the arts, contact the Executive Director.
Check out our ongoing hydrant public art project led by our Youth Ambassadors program to give a platform to youth artists in our downtown.
