Community Canvas interactive mural is unveiled in Downtown Harlan

 HARLAN ­— Visitors to Harlan’s Historic Downtown now have the opportunity to take photos in front of an interactive mural, located outside the Harlan Theatre. The unveiling of the brand-new mural on the side of the Harlan Theatre building took place Thursday, June 15.  After previewing the display at Art in The Park, Elk Horn local Debra King cut the ribbon on the mural she has been working on all winter in her garage. This mural has been in the works since the fall. King worked with the Harlan Theatre on the designing process. The goal was to have it tie in Shelby County and Harlan but also have it hold some cultural significance. They decided to make a mural that would be playful, fun, and colorful; they wanted it to be something people could interact with. “We know that people care about art and that we want our spaces downtown to look beautiful,” King said. “We want them to be fun and engaging, and we want to attract people to town and keep things looking nice.” This project was part of the Community Canvas project with the Shelby County Wellness Alliance under the ‘feel better’ pillar. This is the first mural installation, and the goal is to put in one major art project every year to make Shelby County as beautiful as possible.