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101 people worked together to paint the parking lot curb on the 2nd Street and Sycamore parking lot in just three hours. (Maxwell Harden | Leader Publications)

101 people worked together to paint the parking lot curb on the 2nd Street and Sycamore parking lot in just three hours. (Maxwell Harden | Leader Publications)

Chris Stackowicz works on his mural project. (Maxwell Harden | Leader Publications)

101 people worked together to paint the parking lot curb on the 2nd Street and Sycamore parking lot in just three hours. (Maxwell Harden | Leader Publications)

101 people worked together to paint the parking lot curb on the 2nd Street and Sycamore parking lot in just three hours. (Maxwell Harden | Leader Publications)

NILES — Community members braved the sweltering heat Sunday to be part of an art project that will greet community members and visitors alike for years to come.

The River Essence Group invited community members to paint the parking lot curb on the 2nd Street and Sycamore parking lot. Led by muralist Chris Stackowicz of CStack Productions, 101 people worked together to paint the curb in just three hours. 

Stackowicz was commissioned by building owner Harry Thibault to paint the mural on the building in front of 2nd Street and Sycamore parking lot. The mural, which is inspired by a 19th century bicycle poster, features the Indiana-Michigan River Valley Trail, a 34-mile trail that runs from Niles to Mishawaka, Ind. Thibault participated in the project and was happy to see the turnout.

“I think it’s a good thing for that area,” he said. “It shows that people want to be a part of it.”

Thibault, who purchased the building in 2019, was a parks commissioner for Niles Charter Township and worked to help bring the trail to life. 

“This project, it’s like a culmination,” Thibault said. “So much has gone on in the past five years. (Stackowicz) was the perfect fit for that project. Everything we did just kind of clicked. It’s been a very good relationship to get this done.”

The River Essence Group sought to continue Stackowicz’s talent by contracting him to paint the alley and parking lot curb that will add color and character to the downtown area. The REG is a nonprofit organization founded to enhance the economic and social vitality of the Niles community.

Having worked on the project since April, Stackowicz has gotten to know and love Niles and its people. For Thibault, the River Essence Group and Stackowicz, using art to promote Niles and the trail was a winning formula.

“What I have the ability to do is make something that people like, that’s colorful, that’s happy and brings positive energy to the area,” he said. “Families, little kids, homeless, elderly people, handicapped people, everybody and their mother walks down this alleyway.”

Thanks to the success and visibility of the mural, Thhibault said Stackowicz has several projects lined up through next year in the community.

“Everyone uses that part of downtown,” Thibault said. “He has become an ambassador for downtown Niles. Him and (REG President Vikki Jurgonski) were really the steam behind building the project.”

Stackowicz’s works can be found throughout Southwest Michigan, including the murals at Iron Show Distillery, Green Stem Provisioning, the ‘Welcome To Cassopolis’ mural in Cassopolis and many more. He said that Niles’ layout and its diversity set it apart from other communities.

“I feel like I’m in Sesame Street and Niles is the coolest looking city in the world because of that,” he said. “South Bend, it’s really divided. A lot of people don’t get past Granger – they stay over there and don’t venture out so you’re stuck in a vanilla bubble. That’s one culture and a multicultural city like what you have here needs to have multicultural things.”

For Stackowicz, bringing “cultural wealth” into communities with his art is what makes his work worthwhile.

“I’m not just doing this for this building,” “It impacts every single person around here. For me, it’s never about the money. It’s about the long-term; if this makes somebody’s day, if it gets somebody to rent the Brass Eye or buy it because this is where stuff’s happening as a natural hub, I think I’ve done my job… “Art brings cultural wealth back into the town. It’s what brings the other kinds of prosperity, the other kinds of wealth. The history of America is filled with artists coming into the town and doing it up. The more culture you bring, the safer the neighborhood becomes. The more people are out and about experiencing that culture, the more these storefronts are gonna make money.”

With the art project nearing completion and its proximity to the Forge – Niles’ public outdoor space currently in development –Thibault and Stackowicz are excited to be a part of the resurgence in downtown Niles that is bringing people in from other areas. 

“We’re hoping it keeps the steam rolling,” Thibault said. “Hopefully we can get some more artists in downtown Niles. There are lots of people out there who want to see Niles do great things.”

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