Award-Winning Murals

August 5, 2022
Intern's picture

Located in the southwest section of the Iowa State Fairgrounds is a concrete block building that houses an electrical sub-station. The Blue Ribbon Foundation brought the mural idea and concepts to the Fair Board and submitted a grant request to the Meredith Corporation Foundation. Meredith had supported the Foundation in its infancy with in-kind advertisements but had never found a project that was truly the right fit to form a partnership.

When the mural concept was presented to the Meredith Corporation Foundation board, they easily approved it, providing 100% of the funding for the painting and design costs, $15,000. The Foundation covered costs for full artistic rights to the images and the application of a protective coating.

This small beautification project adds visual interest for all guests walking (or even driving) by during their visit to the Iowa State Fairgrounds and provides a backdrop for families to take their photos, year after year.

James entered the murals into the 64th Annual Design Exhibition by the Art Directors Association of Iowa (ADAI). Recently, he found out that the murals were selected for not one, not two, but three awards! Pictured below, you can see he won awards in Environmental Graphics, Illustration, and Miscellaneous categories.

Thank you again to the Meredith Corporation Foundation, Liz Lidgett Gallery and James Navarro for making the concept a reality. Make sure to add these murals to your 2022 Fair bucket list!

Check out the full awards book here: https://artdirectorsiowa.org