Congaree Vista Guild and One Columbia Tap Local Talent for New Mural in City’s Cultural District

Designer and illustrator Cait Maloney to introduce “Lady Vista” on Columbia’s popular Gervais Street

May 2, 2019 (Columbia, S.C.) – The Congaree Vista Guild (https://www.vistacolumbia.com/guild) — a non-profit, membership-based organization comprised of a wide variety of restaurateurs, shops, businesses, gallery owners and homeowners in the Vista — is excited to announce a new mural in the heart of the city’s beloved Cultural District.

Made possible via a partnership with One Columbia for Arts & History — a non-profit organization advising, amplifying and advocating for the city’s unified arts and history community — and designed and illustrated by local talent Cait Maloney, the mural will be named “Lady Vista” and debut in the spring of 2019. The new mural will be located on Gervais Street, between Park and Lincoln Streets.

Maloney’s inspiration for the project? The vibrant district itself. "I wanted to capture the funky, fresh and colorful essence of the area into one image, so I took everything that I knew the Vista to be and boiled each aspect down into its own abstract representation,” she quotes. “All of these elements together are what bring ‘Lady Vista’ to life.”

A longtime pillar of Columbia’s thriving arts community, the Vista is home to artists in residency, art galleries, public art displays and much more. The district was named an official South Carolina Cultural District — a walkable area serving as a center of cultural, artistic and economic activity — by the South Carolina Arts Commission in 2015 and remains the only district to hold this designation within the City of Columbia today.

“The Vista is meant to be a place of unity, inspiration and excitement,” says Merritt McNeely, president of The Vista Guild. “The addition of public art such as ‘Lady Vista’ ensures that we continue in our mission to cultivate and showcase the work of talented local artists, while bringing people together. We are ecstatic to have the opportunity to work with Cait Maloney, an incredible artistic mind, on this one-of-a-kind project and to share her work with residents and daily visitors alike.”

With such a prominent locale (in close proximity to favorite dining destinations Motor Supply and Sure Fire Tacos and retail staple Urban Outfitters), members of The Vista Guild and One Columbia envision many “Instagrammable” moments with “Lady Vista” to come.

“We are happy to partner with The Vista Guild in bringing this mural to fruition,” says One Columbia Executive Director Lee Snelgrove. “The mural is a true reflection of the vibrant culture within the Vista itself. We hope it will bring a smile to and leave a memory with all passersby to come.”

Individuals on the Congaree Vista Guild board of directors include:

  • Merritt McNeely, President, Flock & Rally
  • Beth Frost, Vice President, Cohn Construction Services
  • Alexis Lindsay, Secretary
  • Richard Burts, Treasurer, 701 Whaley
  • David Erbacher, Immediate Past President, Hyatt Place
  • Todd Avant, CCIM, NAI Avant
  • Kelly Barbrey, Experience Columbia, SC
  • Stephen Chesley, Stormwater Studios
  • Ryan Dukes, Blue Marlin
  • Rosie Craig, R. MacFarlane Craig Real Estate
  • Clark Ellefson, Lewis + Clark
  • Mike Evans, Carolina International Trucks, Inc.
  • Guy Jones, River Runner
  • Dale Marshall, Architrave
  • Hal Stevenson, Grace Outdoor
  • Fred Delk, Ex-Officio, Columbia Development Corporation

About the Congaree Vista Guild

The Congaree Vista Guild is a non-profit, membership-based organization charged with seeing that Columbia’s Vista, which is an official South Carolina Cultural District, is a vibrant symbol of our progressive Southern city. Led by an 18-member Board of Directors representing a variety of business sectors, the Congaree Vista Guild and its members are dedicated to making the Vista the place of choice for shopping, dining and entertainment, a national and international tourist destination, and a high-energy urban environment to live and grow businesses.

About One Columbia

One Columbia for Arts & History is a non-profit organization formed to support and promote tourism in Columbia, South Carolina. Our mission is to advise, amplify and advocate for the unified arts and history community. We work to promote collaboration through shared celebrations of Columbia's arts and historic treasures with the goal of raising the quality of life for our citizens, attracting tourist dollars to our city, and further enhancing our vibrant downtown. For more about public art in Columbia, visit https://publicart.onecolumbiasc.com/.

About Cait Maloney Creative

Cait Maloney Creative helps businesses and individuals visually communicate through thoughtful, engaging and effective design and illustration. For over ten years, she has been able to collaborate with awesome clients locally, nationally and even internationally -- running the creative gamut of design and illustration in everything from children's book illustrations, to environmental branding to print design and so much more. Growing up in a small town in upstate New York, she was one of few with serious interest in art and design, but knew she could make a career of it when she saw early success. She went on to navigate the waters of art school and earned a BFA in illustration from Syracuse University. She is currently based in Columbia, South Carolina.

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