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

By Jackie Gorski
Times Union

WARSAW — Four weeks after the debut of a mural at the YMCA in downtown Warsaw, its completion was celebrated Friday, Nov. 1, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Warsaw’s Main Street.

The first brushstrokes of a mural were placed on the wall of the YMCA in downtown Warsaw on September 27.

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

Muralist Chris Catalogna said it took about 270 hours of painting and 40 hours of design 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 gymnasium.

Catalogna said he wanted the idea of ​​children fleeing the past into the future to be present in the mural. The idea of ​​the mural is that it is okay to dream, go out into nature, and have fun.

While Catalogna painted the mural, children played on the playground.
“They were swinging on the swings and asking me questions,” he said. It was great to talk to people about what Madison Elementary School was like and he got a good sense of the impact of the mural, he said.

At Friday’s event, Hector Loyola, site director of AkzoNobel Warsaw, said the mural paid tribute to members in the region. He thanked Catalogna for the incredible work done with the mural.

AkzoNobel sponsored the mural as part of its 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 “looking forward to bringing our passion for coloring our community to Warsaw.”

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

YMCA CEO Jim Swanson said when the YMCA partnered with G&G Hauling & Excavating Inc., 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 was a great collaboration and he is excited about what the future holds for all sponsors of the project.