Mansfield library’s local-art programming puts murals and ‘wonder’ at the center of downtown culture

Visitors to Mansfield’s Main Library will find hometown art in the second-floor atrium beginning Sept. 14. Five days later, the show moves outside, where projected imagery and light will animate three murals after sunset.

The two programs turn the Main Library, 43 W. Third St., into both an exhibition space and part of the artwork. Residents can see local work during regular library hours, then return Sept. 19 for a free evening program in the public lot.

Wonder upstairs

The Mansfield Public Art Commission and the library are presenting “A Cabinet of Curiosities”, a juried exhibition of original two-dimensional works by local artists. The pieces explore wonder, mystery and beauty in the natural world.

The exhibition will remain in the second-floor atrium through Nov. 13. Visitors can see it during the library’s posted hours: 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday.

Murals after dark

For Luminous ART, projection mapping, digital animation and light effects will bring movement to the three “Books Move Your Imagination” murals on the Bookmobile garage.

Completed in 2023, the murals stand in the library’s public lot at West Third and Mulberry streets. They are Allison Pence’s “Once Upon a Library,” Robin Shoup Wilson’s “Wild About Books” and Demetrius Howell’s “Right at the Tip of Your Mind.”

Mankind Murals Inc. is organizing the event with New Creations Gallery and the Mansfield/Richland County Public Library.

Sept. 19 schedule

The Luminous ART event is scheduled from 6 to 10:30 p.m. Sept. 19. Celtic Sisters will perform at 6:30 p.m., followed by selected readings from “Mural Stories” at 7:15 p.m.

Streetside parking and nearby public lots, including the library parking garage, will be available. Around 8 p.m., after sunset, the light show is expected to begin on the Bookmobile garage.

Together, the programs offer two ways to encounter art at one of downtown’s familiar public places: through the library doors during everyday hours and outside on its walls after dark. This month, the Main Library is not simply displaying local art. It is becoming the canvas.