Downtown Business Owner Involves Local Youth in Community Art Project

# Downtown Business Owner Involves Local Youth in Community Art Project

A downtown Salina business owner is collaborating with a local youth on a community art project that transforms trash corrals into vibrant murals, as part of a larger initiative to beautify the downtown area.

Julie Cates, a downtown business owner, is working on her second trash corral mural for 2025, having completed one behind her business last year. For this project, she has partnered with Jake, an 11-year-old fifth-grade student.

"This one is all going to be ocean animals. Jake loves ocean animals and I do too. And so that's what we decided on for this year," Cates said. The mural will be located on the trash corral behind the market shop.

Jake, who describes himself as "super talented at art," has taken on significant responsibilities in the project. "I really like coloring in. So that's like my big job right now is I she does the sketching out and I do a lot of the painting in," he explained.

The project is part of a larger initiative that began when Leslie Bishop, executive director at SDI (Salina Downtown), approached organizers after one trash corral had been completed as part of an artwork alley pre-festival event. The collaboration involves funding through SDI, support from Parks and Recreation, and oversight from the Community Art and Design Committee.

According to project organizers, the city's Parks and Recreation department is responsible for removing old materials and preparing panels for artists to paint on. The Community Art and Design Committee reviews artist proposals submitted through an open call.

The initiative aims to enhance downtown Salina's appearance while supporting local artists. "It creates a really rich and vibrant scene in the downtown, and it's just a way to engage local and regional artists into this space," a project representative stated.

Currently, six of the 16 trash corrals downtown have been completed, with plans to finish two more each year. Organizers have already identified the next two corrals for 2026, with the call for artists expected to go out by the end of this year.

For young artists like Jake, the project offers a sense of accomplishment. "Like just being able to walk around downtown and like seeing my name that I've wrote on murals is just a really good feeling I can describe," he said.

The collaboration between Salina Downtown, Salina Arts and Humanities, and the city of Salina Parks and Recreation is described as "a beautiful relationship" that helps make downtown "a community for everyone."