SouthWorks and Ithaca Murals to Host Inaugural Mural Invitational
10 Artists Transform Historic Factory Through Art, Offer Community Activities
Ithaca, NY, September 2025 – On October 4th and 5th from 11am to 6pm, the community is invited to join 10 local, regional, and national artists at SouthWorks for Ithaca’s inaugural Mural Invitational, produced in collaboration with Ithaca Murals. During the Invitational, muralists will complete 10 large-scale original works and lead a variety of hands-on and arts-focused activities, including community paint sessions, mural technique workshops, and artist talks.
SouthWorks repurposes a historic industrial manufacturing site into a destination neighborhood, blending adaptive reuse and new construction across 95 acres on Ithaca’s South Hill. “These murals will mark the start of a new chapter in the factory’s history,” said Sarah Barden, Community Outreach & Leasing Coordinator for SouthWorks development partner SHIFT Capital, “and we’re so excited to partner with this diverse group of initial artists and our Tompkins County neighbors to leave their mark on the site.”
Ithaca Murals is a grassroots network which has been transforming grey walls into beautiful works of art since 2010, while advocating for joyful lives and justice for all. “We have been wanting to have a mural event like this for years so this is a dream come true,” said Caleb Thomas, coordinator of Ithaca Murals, which is a fiscally sponsored project of the Center for Transformative Action, a 501c3 nonprofit organization. “If the event in October is successful, this will be the first annual collaboration with SouthWorks painting walls throughout the half-mile-long buildings.”
Artists Audra Linsner, Clove Flores, Eric Bussart, Kristin Dutcher, LaJon Miller, Margalo, Maya Murray, Sergio Arce, Tino Lopez, and Wingchow have each designed a mural specific to the building exteriors along Lower Morse Road, which leads directly to the future home of Found in Ithaca, a beloved antique mall opening at their new location in late Fall 2025. Paint & painting supplies have been generously provided by Meldrim’s Paint Center. The event is also supported by the Community Arts Partnership and the Argos Inn.
For more information about the Mural Invitational visit southworksithaca.com/events or contact Sarah Barden at sbarden@shiftcapital.us and Caleb Thomas at 607-273-5242 (text friendly).
Participating Artist Bios
Audra Linsner is a paint-slinging, award-winning, font-obsessed designer + muralist based in Ithaca, NY with a penchant for making things that look good and have intention. Her favorite niche is working with people to create something meaningful to them. Her company Three of Four Design Co. is home to many creative endeavors, be it via print, digital, walls, logos, aluminum siding, business cards, promotional materials, or electrical boxes. She can be found online at tofd.co and @threeoffour.design on Instagram.
Clove Flores is a multidisciplinary artist who recently moved her practice to Ithaca, NY. Her expression in medium ranges from muralism, fine art painting, tattoo, immersive sculpture installation and sound— to name just a few. The through-line of her practice is guided by exploring and re-contextualizing the technical themes of a space or thing at interactive scales so as to make education more experiential, accessible & fun! She can be found at @chlobasa and @metamorph.ink on Instagram.
Eric Bussart is a full time Illustrator and Mural artist based in Scranton, Pennsylvania. His art style is bold, dynamic, and colorful. He can be found online at ericbussart.com and @ericbussart on Instagram.
Kristin Dutcher has been an artist her whole life. She has created a variety of works of art and used many mediums including spray paint, acrylics, paint markers and watercolor. Kristin loves working with stencils, and gets a variety of different inspirations from nature. Although Kristin is mostly self taught, she did spend some time in the Fine Art program at The Fashion Institute of Technology and later began working towards an art therapy degree at Mesa College in San Diego. She also loves leading art workshops and runs a salon business in Ithaca called “Hair•Color•Art”. Besides being an artist she is also a mother of 3 and is an avid Ashtanga Yoga practitioner! She can be found online at haircolorart.com and @kirstinleigh099 and @hair.color.art on Instagram.
LaJon Miller is a Southern California based artist who has been drawing since he was four years old, sitting in front of the television and drawing scenes from old Looney Tunes, Tom and Jerry, and Popeye cartoons. Life eventually led him to getting a 3D Animation degree then receiving formal art training from an experienced watercolor and oil painting master in Glendale CA. On many creative expressions he likes to work with vibrant color, textured surfaces, and mixing different paint mediums. LaJon recently expanded to mural work, working on public artwork displayed in and around the Long Beach area. He can be found online at theartoflajon.art and @theartoflajon on Instagram.
Margalo is an emerging muralist based in upstate NY and central PA. Born in 2005 and raised in Ithaca, she is inspired by an eclectic range of influences including the natural world, the French impressionists' use of color and light, as well as mechanical and futuristic themes. A Penn State art history student on leave of absence, she has hit the ground running in dedicating her full focus to murals. She can be found online at margaloguo.com and @margaloguo on Instagram.
Maya Murry is a Palestinian-Jordanian artist from Philadelphia, PA who exists at the intersection of art, technology, and liberation movements. Her visual work, documentaries, and murals explore themes of Indigenous futurism, where artwork serves as a tool for projecting futures that don't exist yet and manifesting them into reality. She can be found online at mayamurry.com and @mayammurry on Instagram.
Sergio Arce, better known as Registered Artist, is an urban pop artist based in Miami, FL. Born in Managua, Nicaragua, his father brought him to the United States to escape his family being persecuted by the communist Sandinista regime when Sergio was an infant of three months. Growing up in Miami surrounded by an artistic family, his older cousins sparked his interest in art by exposing him to the fine arts and craft work at an early age. Sergio never attended art school. His passion for constantly improving and learning new techniques fuels his artistic journey, while his pseudonym Registered Artist stems from his decade-long career as a registered nurse. He can be found online at AWallMuralProjects.org and @registered_artist and @awallmuralprojects on Instagram.
Tino Lopez, born and raised in Utica, NY, has been cultivating his artistic voice for nearly two decades. Of Mexican heritage, Tino infuses Latin influences throughout his work, channeling themes of identity, resilience, and pride. His style is defined by bold contrast, a dynamic street-art aesthetic, and fearless exploration of gender and macabre motifs. He can be found at @artlab13creations on Instagram.
Wingchow is a Chinese-American muralist and fine artist who began her career in Richmond, VA. Her distinctive style is characterized by colorful, playful, amorphous forms that either take center stage or play a supporting role, as her work ranges from pure abstraction to loose symbolic narrative. Her works can be found on walls and in galleries across the United States and beyond. She can be found online at wingchowart.com and @wing.chow on Instagram.