Muralist Cheyenne Renee will be in Wilton this week, as part of her “50 in 50” nationwide mural project, painting a mural on the exterior of the Wilton Falls building.

Renee’s goal is to paint 50 murals in 50 small towns across all 50 states by the end of 2025. The project focuses on small communities, highlighting one location in each state.

“It was a national competition, and we won it,” said Wilton’s Economic Development Team Chair Jennifer Beck.

Renee interviews business owners and community members about their town and creates a documentary about the project.

“My hope is to create an experience for people to travel state-to-state to view the murals, to highlight towns and businesses that might otherwise be overlooked, and to support communities around the U.S. that are doing amazing things,” Renee said.

The mural will be a stylized rendering of the Wilton townscape, originally designed by local artist Gail Hoar, which became the town’s official logo in 2020.

Beck said this kind of project is what residents are looking for — unique attractions that make Wilton a destination — based on a recent town survey and a design charrette that recommended public art and murals to enhance the downtown experience.

“You want to create a destination, you want to get more foot traffic in town, the whole point of this mural is to use art to bring people off the beaten track, down into those undiscovered places, and celebrate small towns. It’s a development and economic goal we have to do things like that,” Beck said.

Renee will be in Wilton painting her mural from Oct. 11 through Oct. 15. The painting will be on the Wilton Falls building, facing the police station municipal parking lot, and visible to those driving into downtown from Route 101.

This project is made possible through funding by the Wilton Alliance, with the support of the owner of the Wilton Falls building, Kimphys Properties.

For information about Renee and the 50 in 50 project, visit cheyennerenee.com.

Ashley Saari can be reached at 603-924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on X @AshleySaariMLT.