You could say that Fort Wayne's public art scene is having a moment, thanks to a boost from the city. Two artists have recently brought their unique visions and vibrant colors to high-traffic spaces, helping to write the city’s next chapter on this front.
Australian native
Damien Mitchell and Fort Wayne’s
Julie Wall were commissioned by the
Fort Wayne Public Art Commission to bring large-scale murals to two spots in downtown Fort Wayne. Wall put the finishing touches on hers in late August, and Mitchell has plans to complete his by month’s end.
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Rachel Von Art LLCMuralist Damien Mitchell works on his 15,000 square foot mural on the Union Parking Garage at Electric Works on September 12, 2025.While their approaches differ, both artists share a passion for creating work that engages the community, tells a story, and leaves a lasting impression.
For Mitchell, a blank wall is an opportunity to connect the past with the present. His current artistic endeavor is a massive, 15,000-square-foot mural adorning a five-story parking garage at the Electric Works campus. No small feat, it’s set to be the largest in Fort Wayne.
As a professional artist for 15 years, Mitchell has participated in music and art festivals in more than 30 countries. His clients include: Major League Baseball All-Star Game, MTV, Doctors Without Borders, The Mi Sangre foundation, DKNY, Google, and Michelle Obama.
Despite having these high-profile projects in his portfolio, Mitchell is always looking for the next challenge — and the Electric Works project might scratch that itch.
"The walls have gotten a bit bigger," he says. "As you want to try new things, you need the canvas space to be able to do them."
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Rachel Von Art LLCProgress on the mural on the Union Parking Garage at Electric Works on September 12, 2025.The proposal for the Electric Works mural was intriguing because it offered a fresh start and a chance to flex his artistic muscles.
"Sometimes on historical buildings, you’re kind of limited to historical themes, while this one being new... they're kind of more open to new ideas," he says.
His design for the project is a rich tapestry that honors the site's history while looking toward the future. Mitchell plans to weave together historical elements, like black and white photos of workers from the original General Electric factory, with modern motifs.
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Rachel Von Art LLCMuralist Damien Mitchell works on his 15,000 square foot mural on the Union Parking Garage at Electric Works on September 12, 2025."There's one kid kind of mucking around with a circuit board,” he says. “There's another [depicting a] kid kind of doing some chemistry experiments.”
These images are blended with natural elements like birds and flowers, creating a multifaceted narrative.
Mitchell’s primary tool is spray paint, a medium he grew up with and finds highly functional for large-scale outdoor work. His process is thorough, beginning with research and sketching before moving to the physical act of painting.
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Rachel Von Art LLCProgress on the mural on the Union Parking Garage at Electric Works on September 12, 2025."My experience thus far has been [that] people generally have a pretty open mind towards art, especially in the Midwest," Mitchell says. "I find people there are really kind of welcoming and really into community engagement style projects."
While painting a large-scale mural can feel like a solitary act, Mitchell will have company. His assistant,
Vince Ballentine, will be on-site throughout the entire project. The Cleveland-based artist will help with the technical aspects.
Mitchell is also mentoring three local artists as he creates his mural at Electric Works. Hannah Boersema, Bernadette Fellows and Chrystel Lopez will work with him throughout the month.
Regardless of how it’s received, he hopes the mural serves multiple purposes. He says he’d like to inspire other artists, start conversations about local history, and have his art act as a teaching aid.
"There are a million ways that it can be appreciated," he says. "And if mine falls into any of those categories, great. I think I've done a good job."
Local artist Julie Wall finds her inspiration closer to home, rooting her artwork in the native flora and fauna of the region. No stranger to public art, she’s completed installations at Jefferson Pointe and The Sidecar. This time around, she was selected through a competitive application and proposal process facilitated by Art This Way, a program of Downtown Fort Wayne. The Fort Wayne Public Art Commission approved the mural design in July 2025.
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“We Thrive Here” by Julie Wall in The Riverfront at Promenade Park's parking garage.Wall’s recently completed 2,000-square-foot mural, located at the Riverfront at Promenade Park parking garage, transformed ordinary cinder block walls into a flourishing botanical scene. According to Wall, her work is a celebration of growth and transformation, themes she feels are particularly resonant today. Her mural features local plants, native insects, and birds, creating a piece that is subtly, yet deeply, connected to its location. Aptly, the piece’s theme is "we thrive here."
"We're all going through a lot of growth these last couple of years with everything going on in the world," she says. "So lots of that's really the basic themes of everything that I do are kind of coming into your own, growth, transformation, change, hopefully for the positive."
Wall says the finished piece reflects some of the most vocal residents’ preferences and input. When some expressed a desire for botanicals, she knew her concept was a perfect fit for the space.
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“We Thrive Here” by Julie Wall in The Riverfront at Promenade Park's parking garage."That's kind of my way of making something say that I'm from Fort Wayne or from this area, is instead of blatantly being like ‘Fort Wayne rocks,’” she says.
Working with high-grade exterior paint, Wall completed the multi-panel mural in eight long days, with some help from her mother, Sue Wall. The project wasn't without its challenges, including navigating around people moving furniture against her wet-paint-signed walls. Despite minor setbacks, the response from the community and building residents was overwhelmingly positive.
"99.9% of everyone was just so excited, so happy to see some color," Wall says. “The garage entrance is across from the county jail, and many employees park there. It was just kind of nice to add some fun pops of positivity in a seemingly slightly heavy space.”
At 222 Pearl Street, Fort Wayne visitors will soon be seeing more color as well.
Art This Way announced recently that local and regional muralists Brandon Coley, Natalie Fetzer, Carly Mitchell, Mitchell Egly and Jon Mendelson will be installing several new murals along the west and north sides of the building.
According to the press release, the installation “celebrates music and Fort Wayne’s growing reputation as a ‘music city,’” and will cover the building’s cinderblock walls, leaving its historic brick untouched.
Upcoming mural events:
Electric Works plans to host an artist talk with Mitchell on Sept. 18 at 5:30 p.m. at The Forum at Electric Works.
According to a statement from Electric Works, this event will provide the venue for the community to meet him, learn more about his career, and see the work in progress.
On September 29, from 6 to 7:30 p.m., Downtown Fort Wayne will celebrate the artists and their murals at 222 Pearl Street.