GREENFIELD — The city will use a $15,500 grant from the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism (MOTT) to paint educational murals on 10 sidewalks to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution.
Massachusetts is honoring the 250th anniversary of the Revolutionary War this year and next with initiatives and events across the state, funded by $2 million in grants from the Healey-Driscoll administration.
The city’s grant writer, Athena Bradley, announced at a Historical Commission meeting Thursday that the city’s downtown sidewalk art tour will involve 10 sidewalk murals at various locations, highlighting the city’s connection to the American Revolution. She said in the next month, the city will issue a call for artists. Selected painters will be given a $1,100 stipend each for their murals.
“It will go through a judging contest … and then they will have the murals completed by early June. That’s the goal,” she said. “We can start tours in June with the kickoff of the big tours going around July 4.”
The murals, Bradley said, will depict themes of the Revolutionary War and Greenfield’s historical links to the country’s formation. Similar to the city’s abolitionist history sidewalk murals, the Rev250 murals are expected to last two to three years.
Fifty-nine organizations across the state are receiving funding, including five in Hampshire and Franklin counties. Gov. Maura Healey said in a statement that her administration is excited to help “tell the story of Massachusetts, from our Revolutionary roots to the vibrant, inclusive state we are today.”