The completion of the mural at the YMCA in Warsaw City Center was celebrated with a ribbon cutting on Friday. Pictured are muralist Chris Catalogna and members of AkzoNobel, Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce, Warsaw Main Street, Warsaw Public Art Commission and Clearly Kosciusko. Photo: Jackie Gorski, Times-Union.

By Jackie Gorski
Times-Union

WARSAW — Four weeks after the start of a mural at the Warsaw City Center YMCA, its completion was celebrated with a ribbon cutting on Friday, Nov. 1, on Warsaw Main Street.

The first brushstrokes of a mural were hung on the wall of the Warsaw City Center YMCA on September 27.

AkzoNobel is located at 576 W. Fort Wayne St. in Warsaw. Main Street Warsaw partnered with the Warsaw Public Arts Commission and Clearly Kosciusko to create a 2,100-square-foot mural on the building located at .

Mural artist Chris Catalogna said it took about 270 hours of painting and 40 hours of design work to complete the mural.

The old Madison Elementary School was the focal point of the mural. The Downtown Warsaw YMCA is located in what remains of the school’s gymnasium.

Catalogna said he wanted the mural to have the idea of ​​children escaping from the past being in the future. The idea of ​​the mural is that it’s okay to daydream, go out into nature, and have fun.

There were children playing on the playground while Catalogna was painting the mural.
“They were swinging on the swings and asking me questions,” he said. It was great to talk to people about what Madison Elementary was like, he said, and he got a good perspective on what the impact of the mural would be.

During Friday’s event, AkzoNobel Warsaw Field Manager Hector Loyola said the mural honors members in the region. He thanked Catalogna for the great job on the mural.

AkzoNobel sponsored the mural as part of the global Let’s Color initiative, which has been adding color to people’s lives and transforming communities around the world for more than a decade, according to a press release. With 3,059 community projects completed worldwide, AkzoNobel is “keen to bring our passion for coloring our community to Warsaw.”

Paulette Davis of the Warsaw Public Art Commission said she wanted to reach out to the commission and thank AkzoNobel for giving them the opportunity to do something like a partnership on the mural. Kosciusko thanked the Chamber of Commerce, Main Street Warsaw, the Warsaw Public Art Commission, and Clearly Kosciusko for supporting the project and helping the commission develop and bring public art to Warsaw.

YMCA CEO Jim Swanson, YMCA’s G & G Hauling & Excavating Inc. He said that when they partnered with , they wanted to keep the history of Madison Elementary School alive in the area.

Rob Parker, president and CEO of Main Street Warsaw and Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce, said this is a great collaboration and he is excited about what the future holds for all sponsors of the project.