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ArtSpace304 celebrates 35 years and looks forward to the future, with a new building and murals planned.

The public gathering at ArtSpace304 on Sunday, June 12 to celebrate 35 years of art in Carbondale.
WSIU Kevin Boucher
The public gathering at ArtSpace304 on Sunday, June 12 to celebrate 35 years of art in Carbondale.

The non-profit Artspace304 is in the process of buying murals to be created in strategic places around Carbondale. Artspace304 President Marsha Ryan says the murals will serve as a way to highlight the upcoming creation of the Carbondale Art District , and also to give residents and visitors a positive feeling about the city.

"It's a sign that it's not an ordinary community that it has an art heart it's as if the stars have lined up and we're all coming out of the Pandemic with this new sense of energy and purpose."

Ryan says the murals will be located at prominent north, south east and west compass points as you enter downtown Carbondale. One other mural is planned for the Varsity Wall that faces the in-progress, multi-modal transportation hub.

The ten mural finalists will soon be on display in the Corridor Gallery in the Carbondale Civic Center for the public to view and vote on. Welcome, Carbondale! is a 2022 initiative of Artspace 304's Southern Illinois Mural Project, in partnership with the City of Carbondale, SIUC, local businesses, and private donors. 

And be sure to listen for an upcoming InFocus about the importance of art, in the growth of a city.

Born in Newport, Rhode Island to a military family, Kevin Boucher traveled the country and the world at a young age before his family settled in Murphysboro, Illinois in 1976. He earned a Bachelor's degree in Radio-Television at Southern Illinois University (SIU) in Carbondale and worked in commercial radio before becoming the Traffic Manager at WSIU Public Television. Boucher has since earned a Master's degree in Professional Media & Media Management Studies from SIU's College of Mass Communication & Media Arts. He is an outdoor enthusiast who enjoys gardening and exploring the flora and fauna of the Shawnee National Forest and other beautiful natural areas across southern Illinois. Kevin is embarking on a new path with WSIU as the Community Engagement Producer for WSIU Radio. Look for Kevin's work on air and on line.
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