BUTTE — The Mining City is looking a little bit brighter with the completion of a new mural at the gateway to the Historic Uptown Butte District.
"I think it’s wonderful that people are gonna turn to Uptown Butte and this is the art they’re going to see," says Mo Seymour as she walks through the parking lot at the busy intersection.
For the last week, Seymour has been watching the new mural take shape in her neighborhood and she stopped in to thank the local business that is holding a party to celebrate the art.
"We live in this beautiful state and we want to give back to our communities and be involved and that’s why we’re doing this event today," says Dawna Ostermeier of MariMint Montana.
Ostermeir is the owner of the building and a co-owner of the Marimint Montana cannabis dispensary chain. The building is located on one of Butte’s busiest intersections and she says funding the mural is part of celebrating the community while also introducing her business to the city. And when deciding on a way to contribute to the community, she turned to her store manager who grew up in town.
"I wanted to take away the dispensary negativity and just bring more light into Butte," says store manager Alysia Guzman.
"Butte is known as 'brown town', and I see nothing but green. I see beautifulness and I want to be able to bring it to everywhere, not just to Uptown Butte."
The mural spans half a block and celebrates current and historic structures painted by local artist Frank Hall using about 136 cans of spray paint. And much to the delight of the neighbors, a new mural in this section of town is not just an addition of beauty but also a necessity.
"I absolutely think art is important. I wish that more of our walls, our vacant walls had art. There’s so many artists in town that if we gave them a canvas it would be awesome," says Seymour.
"I think everybody should join me on creating more art around town," adds Guzman.
