YBI will install mural

Staff report

youngstown

Downtown Youngstown will get a little brighter with the addition of a mural at the Youngstown Business Incubator.

The mural is a way to show the incubator is a fun and exciting place to work downtown, said Jim Cossler, CEO and chief evangelist for the incubator.

It also will help people to know exactly how large the incubator has become, he said. The mural is expected to be installed in the next 30 to 60 days.

“It will stretch across all four buildings, Cossler said. “People will realize we’re not just the building with the name on it.”

The mural will be about 310 feet long, he said. It will be a temporary piece of artwork on vinyl that will be viewable from outside the building, but on the inside it will just appear to be a tinted window.

“This may be the largest public art effort ever in the Mahoning Valley,” Cossler said.

The mural will probably stay up less than a year, he said.

“Then we’ll replace it with something we believe will be equally as bold,” Cossler said.

Another benefit of the project was the ability to work with students from Youngstown State University. One of the incubator’s goals is to engage the YSU campus, particularly its students, he said.

Fundraising generated $7,500 in donations, which was more than the goal of $7,350 set when the drive began. There were 121 people who agreed to help finance the mural.

The incubator plans to have a private reception for those who donated either on the day of or just after the mural is unveiled, Cossler said. The event will include a chance to meet the students who designed the murals.