The city will host a dedication ceremony on Saturday for the new mural on East Cherry Street.

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The ceremony will be part of activities from noon to 1 p.m. that will include live music, dance performances, artwork discussion, chalk drawing, and a scavenger hunt with prizes at the annual River Fest, presented by the Rahway River Watershed Association.

The mural, on the west wall of 69 E. Cherry St., was completed in recent weeks by Andrey Kravtsov of Key Detail. The project was funded through the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Community-Based Art Grant Program 2023. The Community-Based Art Program grant covered the $9,000 costs of materials and the city entered into a $13,000 agreement with Key Detail to install the mural.

Key Detail’s portfolio includes murals in Kansas City, Missouri; Greencastle, Indiana; Fort Wayne, Indiana; New Albany, Indiana; Green River, Wyoming; and, China. His art style is labeled at fantasy, figurative, and abstract. It can be found on Instagram.

The mural originally was planned for The Paseo, along the wall of 1491 Main St., but the city was unable to reach agreement in time with the building’s owner.

The Community-Based Art Grant Program supports community-based projects in coastal areas to develop and display artwork that effectively communicates coastal hazards, according to the resolution. “Coastal hazards are defined as flooding caused by coastal conditions, such as rising sea levels, coastal storms such as nor’easters and hurricanes, or high-tide flooding when no storm is present.”

Another mural planned for Arts District Park is expected to be installed next month.

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