Rochester artist Maggie Panetta recently completed a colorful mural along the busy 4th Street bike path in Rochester, Minnesota, thanks to an Individual Artist Grant from SEMAC. Entitled “Zumbro River Underpass Mural”, the mural brightens a previously dim concrete underpass between 4th and 3rd Streets.
Maggie designed the mural to incorporate public art into a highly trafficked area of the city that connects many downtown businesses and where it can be appreciated by pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers. The vibrant, abstract foliage and organic shapes pop against the concrete background.
One of Maggie’s objectives in the mural project’s creation was bringing the community together. Maggie held public painting sessions during which she invited people from all walks of life to join in, including Mayo Clinic patients and visitors, seniors, youth, and passing cyclists. A highlight was the participation of a painter who was in Rochester rehabilitating from a hand and arm injury. He used Maggie’s mural project as an enriching opportunity to incorporate art into his therapy by volunteering to help paint several sections.
The public dedication on October 28, 2023, at the Rochester Art Center commemorated the mural’s completion. For years to come, this vibrant new public art mural will greet travelers along this busy downtown corridor, brightening both the physical space and the spirits of passersby’s. All thanks to Maggie’s creative vision and funding from SEMAC.
To learn more about Maggie, visit www.magsdesigns.com or find her on Instagram at www.instagram.com/maggie_designss.
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