Chinon “Chichi” Maria, Maven Murals.
Cities and towns across the country are looking a little more colorful lately—and that’s not because of the changing seasons.
Groups that aim to promote local talent and engage the community have been turning bare city walls and public buildings into huge public canvases. Brattleboro is in the planning stages to promote creative murals townwide.
Some years ago, Bellows Falls created a welcoming mural for its downtown. Now the Rotary Club of the Deerfield Valley has engaged Chinon “Chichi” Maria, an artist, muralist, and former professional alpine skier, to return to her home in the Deerfield Valley to help spruce up one of the buildings left abandoned in the wake of Tropical Storm Irene.
The club will auction off the murals when the building becomes occupied.
Chichi also created murals in the windows at the Heritage Building in Wilmington with an assist from Twin Valley Elementary School students.
An advocate of art education for children, Chichi regularly involves communities to be part of her murals to actively inspire youth through creativity. She has exhibited her work internationally, in galleries and on walls throughout North America and Europe. She launched Maven Murals, a full-service custom mural company, in 2015.
