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Creativity in the Streets

Aired Monday, May 15th at 7pm on WVIA TV

Murals are one type of public art and are intentionally available to all. Collaboration is key and can include the community, artists, and local government as they address design, funding, and locale. Keystone Edition: Arts explores the past and present of the region’s murals focusing on what inspires artists and who benefits when art is created for public spaces.

Creativity in the Streets

Aftershow

Panelists

Elaine Maddon Curry

Elaine Maddon Curry is the Co-Founder and Program Director for the Hazleton Integration Project and Hazleton One Community Center. She is actively involved with and the co-founder of Concerned Parents of the Hazleton Area. Elaine is also the Chair of the Hazleton Advisory Council of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission (PHRC).

Elaine served on the Hazleton Area School Board from 2002-2009 and was Board President in 2008. She was an inaugural member of the Luzerne County Council and served from 2011-2013. Elaine served on the Luzerne County Diversity Commission from 2007-2011 and was a Luzerne County Community College Trustee from 2006-2011.

Elaine received a Bachelor of Arts from Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA. She worked as a Medical Librarian for the Greater Hazleton Health Alliance, Hazleton, PA, from 1970-2013.

Ryan Hnat

Born in the heart of the southern coal fields of Northeastern Pennsylvania from the borough of Coaldale. Hnat spent most of his days playing in the woods and along the coal banks near his home town. He started working for his father’s painting business at the age of 16. Later, attending Penn State University for Geodetic Engineering then switching to Art Education. He proceeded, after his first degree, to go on further to receive a Master of Fine Arts from Marywood University.

Hnat met his wife, Amy, while attending Marywood and later settled in the city of Scranton. He teaches art education in the Scranton School District at West Scranton High School. While off during the summers, he continues to house paint for his own company, Hnat Designs. In 2016, he opened with his wife, Electric City Escape Rooms, in Scranton and ran this successful business until 2020, closing after Covid-19 pandemic. During the later part of this business, he established in 2018, Northeast Art Project. A company that focuses on assisting, implementing, and executing public works of art. Northeast Art Project has worked with several nonprofits and for-profit businesses to add public works of art to the communities of Northeast PA.

Resource Links:

Lackawanna County Mural Trail

Scranton Tomorrow’s Mural Art Program

Street Art Society of NEPA

Discover NEPA

Lewisburg Mural Tour

WVIA News - Scranton Civic Ballet mural

New Deal Art in PA

U.S. General Service Administration - New Deal Art Gallery

ArtScene interview

Street Art Society of NEPA