Graffiti News

Kian Dubay will paint the library courtyard wall

Sharpsburg Community Library has chosen Kian Dubay, an artist and activist from Pittsburgh’s Mount Washington neighborhood, for a courtyard mural in its renovated outdoor space. According to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Dubay was selected from 26 applicants, with three artists reaching the final round. The commission concerns a wall measuring 10 feet by 9 feet at the library, 1212 Main Street in Sharpsburg.

The library is a branch of Cooper-Siegel Community Library in Fox Chapel. Its courtyard renovation brings the mural into a broader effort to expand outdoor programming. For people following public art, the commission offers a specific site to watch: a library courtyard where the artwork is being developed alongside changes to the surrounding space.

The selection establishes who will make the mural. The account describes painting as a future stage, with an artist event being arranged before work on the wall begins.

Community participation helped determine the selection

Dubay’s approach to community involvement was a central reason for the choice. Branch manager Sara Mariacher, speaking on August 17, said the finalists had all offered imaginative, colorful responses to a prompt asking what imagination could grow. Dubay also showed an understanding of contemporary libraries and proposed several ways to involve the community in feedback and the creative process.

Library officials credited Nanci Goldberg of Artspiration with helping the artist search. Goldberg highlighted Dubay’s mural experience and background in collaboration. Together, those comments explain why the selection involved more than choosing an image for an available wall: the library also considered how the artist would work with the people around it.

That distinction matters when following a community mural from commission to completion. In this project, residents’ involvement forms part of the stated approach. The report does not provide a finished design or a detailed participation schedule, so the prompt and the artist’s intentions should not be treated as a description of the eventual painting.

The commission includes $3,000 for the artist’s work

The project allocates $3,000 to cover the artist’s supplies, time and skills. According to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, that payment is supported by the Allegheny Regional Asset District’s Transformative Community Library Fund. The amount is identified as funding for the artist’s contribution; the report does not give a total cost for the entire courtyard renovation.

Dubay founded The Mural Magic and had been making murals for about five years at the time of the report. Their background includes two periods of AmeriCorps public service, graduation from the Warhol Academy and work in asset-based community development. Dubay linked that experience, along with a love of libraries, to the decision to apply.

The article also lists commissions from organizations and businesses including the Pittsburgh Foundation, Pittsburgh International Airport and Marriott. For this library project, however, Dubay emphasized the opportunity to hear from and work with the community. That stated interest aligns with the qualities the selection team described.

Painting is expected to follow a September artist event

A meet-the-artist event is being planned for September, and painting is expected to begin sometime in October. The report gives no exact event date, painting schedule or confirmed unveiling. The broader goal is to finish the courtyard project in the fall, with the mural and new furniture as its final elements.

The courtyard dates to 2014, during a major library expansion completed in 2015. It has been closed for much of the renovation year. Work formally began in April after months of planning, and improvements include fencing, tree removal, pavers and hardscape. Tree Pittsburgh and senior arborist Meg Cerveny helped with environmental work.

For a future visit, the reported address is 1212 Main Street. The library remains open during reconstruction, but that does not establish access to the courtyard or a completed mural. Readers can consult the library’s program information at coopersiegelcommunitylibrary.org/location/sharpsburg for arrangements connected with the site.

Explore other public artworks through Wallscape’s map.

Source: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review