REMER — Creating 50 murals would be a big project by itself. To create 50 murals while traveling all over the United States of America?
That's an even bigger project. That's what artist Cheyenne Renee is tackling in 2025.
She calls it the 50 in 50 project. She plans to create 50 different murals in 50 different communities in all 50 states by the end of 2025. She came up with the project in 2022 and thought of it as an opportunity to blend her passions together.
On a recent Area Voices conversation on the KAXE Morning Show, Renee said, “I was really interested in learning more about economic development and tourism in small communities. That's a big part of the project: highlighting small towns and communities in each state.”
For her selection process, she took nominations on her website and suggestions on her Facebook and Instagram pages. She reached out to towns’ chambers of commerce or local nonprofit organizations to pitch the project and then got connected with the right business or client.
To kick things off, she started in her hometown of Covington, Virginia. Minnesota was her 30th completed state.
Each location has its own unique mural design, which she develops with the business or community. Sometimes, these conversations last for more than a year.
“Something that I focus on a lot specifically is highlighting things within the mural that are going to be relevant and meaningful to the community that has to see them the most," Renee said.
A few days is a quick turnaround for such a large art project. Renee said it’s something she has adjusted to, on top of the travel involved. However, she said she’s always excited to work on them.
“That helps me have the energy to kind of keep going,” Renee said.
Her main challenge is the weather. A rainy day can delay her when she’s on a tight schedule before her next destination. Another challenge is more of a double-edged sword: Renee said she’s met so many amazing people, it can be difficult to say goodbye.
Renee said travel preparation has been different for each town. She stays at state park campgrounds or parks her RV or camper truck somewhere. Sometimes, a town provides a place to stay, like a local hotel.
Artist beginnings
Renee was a kid who always liked to draw. However, when she was 11 years old, she caught Bob Ross painting on TV late at night. It inspired her to pick up acrylic paints for the first time.
Renee said, “I think that made it accessible and made me interested in wanting to practice and spend time doing it on my own.”
As for how that led to making murals, she said that was sort of by accident. She was doing commission canvas work in her hometown when people started asking her to paint their windows around Christmastime. She enjoyed working on that larger scale.
Remer project
For the Remer location, Renee is painting a 10-by-15-foot billboard outside of the Rusty Bucket. She was told the community wanted something colorful to highlight the landscape and wildlife in the area.
She decided to create a sunset scene with a large bald eagle.
“And we're going to hide a little Bigfoot silhouette in there somewhere because that's kind of becoming a mascot of the town,” Renee added.
Film project
There will also be a documentary about the project. Renee said she hopes it can inspire viewers to visit these towns.
“That's exciting for me to know that there's people that are following along that eventually might get to see these murals in person and kind of experience part of what I'm getting to experience," she said.
The documentary idea came along with the mural idea. It will be called 50 in 50 Project and will be available to watch for free, hopefully six months after the project is completed, on her website.
Renee said, “The documentary is going to be focused less about the artwork and not so much about me and more about these communities and why it's important to think differently about how we travel and taking our time across the country. And how that can impact small communities and small businesses.”
Tell us about upcoming arts events where you live in Northern Minnesota by emailing psa@kaxe.org.
Area Voices is made possible by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.
