A new mural is taking shape in Stuart’s Flagler Park, where artist Samara Ash has begun painting a piece commissioned by the City of Stuart and Stuart Main Street.
Candace Callahan, executive director of Stuart Main Street, said Ash began preparing the walls this week, with the project expected to continue through the next several weeks.
“Now we're finally putting paint on walls. She [Samara Ash] actually primed the walls today. So over the next three weeks, depending upon rain, we should be complete and we will be hosting an unveiling of the mural sometime in October,” she said.
The mural, named Heritage Vitalis, is intended to reflect aspects of Stuart beyond its downtown setting, incorporating elements connected to the city's environment and culture.
Callahan said the project was designed around Stuart Main Street's broader approach to balancing preservation with continued growth.
“We really wanted it to tell the story, not just of Stuart, but of course being Flagler Park is on the water. We also wanted to try to tie in our local ecosystem. The theme of our organization is embracing the future while preserving the past,” she said. “So the submissions were required to capture Stuart's unique local ecosystem, cultural life.”
Ash was also asked to consider how the mural could be maintained after its completion.
“The artist also was encouraged to submit a mural maintenance program to help obviously protect this asset because we're putting a lot of our energy and funds into it. We wanted to make sure that the mural was going to be able to last a long time for people to enjoy,” Callahan said.
The project comes as Stuart continues work on improvements to its downtown parks. Callahan said she hopes the mural can help draw attention to Flagler Park and encourage additional investment in the space.
“This comes at a perfect time when the city has already finished so many phases of renovations to Memorial Park, which is on the opposite side of our downtown. This is kind of our way to help motivate our city to start reinvesting into other parks. And we hope it's Flagler Park,” she said.
The mural also fits into what Callahan described as a broader effort to preserve the character of Stuart as the city grows.
“Reinvestment is really the word, right? Because I think for us, reinvestment and preservation kind of go hand in hand. At this stage of our city's growth, it's really about maintaining that small town America charm that we've become so known for,” she said. “If a mural is one simple way of doing that, then I think we're going in the right direction.”
The mural is being funded through grants from the city and Women Supporting the Arts. Local historians, preservationists and residents also contributed ideas to the project.
Ash described Heritage Vitalis as an effort to connect Stuart's past with its continued evolution.
“With Heritage Vitalis, I wanted to create something that feels rooted in Stuart while speaking to a larger idea—that places, like people, carry history, change over time, and continue to evolve,” Ash said.
The mural is expected to take about three weeks to complete, depending on weather, with an unveiling planned for October.