Downtown Mural Celebration – Event Summary – College Park City-University Partnership

On Thursday, November 7^th at 10:00 a.m., the College Park City-University Partnership together with representatives from the City of College Park, the 21^st District Delegation, the University of Maryland, the Prince George’s County Redevelopment Authority and business owners from the Downtown College Park Management Authority came together to celebrate a new mural in downtown College Park.

The environmental-themed mural was created by Cory L. Stowers and Jason Philp, and installed with their artist team (Emanuel Jones, Ernesto Zalaya, Dante Payge and Gordon Davis, Jr.) throughout the month of October, transforming the most visible and prominent façade in downtown College Park.

Eric Olson, Executive Director of the College Park City-University Partnership, welcomed over 23 people in attendance at the mural celebration, thanking the City of College Park and the Prince George’s County Redevelopment Authority for their financial support for the mural project. “This mural will bring attention to the environment, and will change the experience here on Baltimore Avenue for generations, and it would not have happened without dedicated partnership from the City and the County – and building owners like Chuck Castle,” he said.

The Partnership’s Board Chair, Richard Wagner, also called attention to the collaboration for this project, the efficiency of the project saying that “as soon as the agreements were signed, the scaffolding went up” and that “this mural signals that the Baltimore Avenue corridor in College Park is an interesting destination for arts, culture, businesses, and more.”

Monroe Dennis, College Park Mayor Pro-Tem, talked about how “This mural highlights the contributions made by the city and university, toward protecting our environment.”

Muralist Cory L. Stowers talked about his inspiration for the project. “This mural is a very exciting project – it brings a new sense of energy to this space and these images here are important together. The turtle shell, according to the First Nation peoples, is a symbol of protection, and so the turtle shell is protecting that Checkerspot Butterfly so it can develop from a caterpillar, to a chrysalis, to a butterfly.”