OLEAN, N.Y. – To complement the large-scale “Heart of Olean Mural” installation, the VantagePointMural.com website was recently unveiled.
The website helps to tell the story of the 10,000 square-foot painting that covers each of the four sides of the Library & Liberal Arts Center on the SUNY Jamestown Community College’s Cattaraugus County Campus.
can scan a QR code for an audio tour of the installation.
It includes news, information, community partners, and a gallery of photos and videos of the mural created in 2022 by world-renowned muralist Meg Saligman with the help of a team of nearly 40 artists and volunteers, and more than 1,000 community members through paint days.
Saligman, who has produced many large-scale community-driven murals around the world, chose the Olean campus for the work to pay homage to her late father and the city where she was raised.
To develop concepts for installation, Saligman held public forums where she sought input from locals through conversations, written ideas, and artifacts. Her goal was to create a landmark work that represented the Olean region.
Photos and videos of the mural, titled “Vantage Point: Our Valley of The Sun,” show how it came together over the course of five months, culminating with its dedication in October 2022. The website shares that more than 10% of the Olean community participated in the project, contributing to 30% of the final installation.
The site also features a “Visit” page for those wishing to bask in the mural’s beauty in person. The page shares that visitors can experience the mural in an interactive way by scanning an onsite QR code – made from tile produced in Olean – to activate a guided audio tour and scavenger hunt.
The tour, presented by Saligman, reveals concepts and inspiration behind the characters and artifacts shown in the installation.