Public art is emerging all over Harrisonburg and Rockingham County, inviting you to incorporate the richness of visual art in your daily or travel routine. Learn more about many of the murals and sculptures in our community with some behind-the-scenes details throughout this page; the list of stunning works of public art is ever-growing!
A new endowment makes it possible for individuals and businesses to help forge a more colorful, vibrant, and creative community through the power of public art. Administered by The Community Foundation of Harrisonburg & Rockingham County, the Public Art Endowment provides support to Arts Council of the Valley for creation and maintenance of permanent works of public art. The endowment was established to activate cultural connectivity, enhance economic vitality, and create a compelling visual experience for area residents and visitors.
Reach out to us! Arts Council of the Valley can help organizations and property owners in the Harrisonburg-Rockingham area make connections with local artists who have the skill, talent, and passion to invigorate public spaces with art.
Applying for one of Arts Council of the Valley’s grants is a great place to start! This funding could help support your ideas for enriching Harrisonburg and Rockingham County with an abundance of accessible and community-enriching works of art.
620 Simms Ave
Arts Council of the Valley, in collaboration with the City of Harrisonburg, the Northeast Neighborhood Association, and two private project donors, have invited artists to submit their original designs for three works of art – a mosaic, an archway and freestanding sculpture(s) – to be installed at the Spraygrounds at Harrisonburg’s Ralph Sampson Park.
34 S Main St
As part of its 25th Anniversary celebration, Arts Council of the Valley is working with artist David Draime to create a large-scale international mural in downtown Harrisonburg. Local painters have already begun to apply the mural using designs from the hearts of passionate artists living thousands of miles away, whose government prohibits their freedom of expression.
174 S Main St
This mural – part of The Big Read programming at Massanutten Regional Library in 2025 – presents an enchanting array of literature-based imagery and a diverse group of enthralled library patrons – highlighting a library’s role as a welcoming and special place to engage with all that reading can offer.
Kauffman’s design was selected by committee from more than 15 nationwide mural proposals, and the final work was unveiled at Central Library during the Rocktown Author Festival in April.
From Library Director Zach Elder: “Tyler’s mural represents a vibrant place where all are welcome to learn, discover, and connect, so it is fitting that we unveil it at the Rocktown Author Festival, where we are all welcome to discover, learn from and connect with the vibrant literary community of the Shenandoah Valley.”
This public art project was supported, in part, by an Arts Council of the Valley Fall 2024 Advancing the Arts Creative Inspiration grant.
265 Liberty St
With peace, harmony, and the Shenandoah Valley’s natural beauty in mind, this mural spans an entire apartment building – mailboxes, doors, and lights included! More than 130 colors dance along the bricks.
220 Reservoir St
Drawn by Tim Lehi, and painted by Dalton Plummer and Josh Swartz, the 35′ x 9′ mural transforms Alley Cat Tattoo’s new location with artwork based on a design by legendary tattoo artist Pinky Yun.
Intersection of N Liberty St & N Main St
With support from the City of Harrisonburg, Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance, the Northeast Neighborhood Association, and Arts Council of the Valley, this 20-foot-tall steel work by artist Nick Brinen spells out a warm welcome. Brinen’s artwork combines public input and artistic inspiration to reflect major themes expressed by community members: the city’s diversity, the welcoming nature of those who live here, the beauty of the surrounding Shenandoah Valley environment, and local history.
111 N Liberty St
This playful mural ties together two local business neighbors – Mashita and Aristocat Cafe – with the restaurant’s tiger logo and a teacup for the cat cafe.
92 S Main St
With 230 cans of spray paint – and more than 180 different colors – Kauffman spent a summer transforming the exterior wall of Billy Jack’s Shack into a colorful dreamscape combining elements of western imagery, outer space, and, of course, a rooster. The adventure-filled design reflects components of the host restaurant’s interior.
Downtown Harrisonburg
Ten Harrisonburg Public Works traffic cabinets have been transformed into pieces of art, displaying the works of local artists in the form of vinyl wraps. The project involved a collaboration among the City of Harrisonburg, Arts Council of the Valley, and Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance.
1 Court Square
In a project organized by students from the Harrisonburg City Public Schools Governor’s STEM Academy and other HCPS students, this mural – adorning the Harrisonburg City Public Schools Central Office building – features tree branches to represent the City’s public schools. Artist William Snyder III painted the tree and installed the community of leaves (painted by HCPS students).
14 E Water St
Release sails across the sky as a larger-than-life homage to the late Dr. Charles “Zig” Ziegenfus and his many contributions to the birding community; the mural depicts Zig’s hand releasing a banded American Kestrel back to the wild. Family and friends of Ziegenfus worked with Arts Council of the Valley on a suitable location (Magnolia’s) and content for the mural.
238 E Water St
Dripping, mysterious, and mystical, this titanic mural features Richmond, VA and Amsterdam, Netherlands-based artist Nils Westergard’s friend, Michael, who joined him for a weekly game of chess for years. The multistory painting was completed in just one (very windy, super chilly) week!
220 Waterman Dr
Atop the ribbed metal exterior of a local dog day care center, the full mural (detail shown above) features portraits of several beloved canine clients!
153 S Main St
During Downtown Harrisonburg’s summer festival, Best.Weekend.Ever., community members and visiting festival-goers joined forces to paint the foundation of this music-appreciating mural. The music notes around the perimeter of the work were brought to life by Barbara Camph of OASIS Fine Art and Craft with Jennifer Bayes of Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance. Jimmy Bruce, Shenandoah Valley’s premiere sign painter, added the final text.
Downtown Harrisonburg
Mother duck and her eight ducklings – crafted in bronze by sculptor David Turner with inspiration from children’s book “Look Up, Patito,” written by Marcia Zook and illustrated by Kathleen Johnston – wander throughout the streets of Downtown Harrisonburg. In a public art initiative led by Explore More Discovery Museum and supported by Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance, each duckling has been installed in a unique location downtown and named by community members.
47 Court Square
As Broad Porch Coffee Company prepared to open the doors of its Harrisonburg cafe location, the Earth Surprise team filled every inch of the freshly renovated W Market St wall with this high-energy bird-and-bug design to welcome customers into the new space.
115 W Water St
With support from a Spring 2023 Arts Council of the Valley Advancing the Arts grant, artists Jeff Guinn and Torie Topor set out to transform the east-facing wall of the building housing The Mark-It. With abundant color and joyful illustration, the mural shines a spotlight on local landscapes and favored activities as well as the property’s various uses in its 100+ year history (print shop, paint store, and pet supply store, to name a few).
The artwork is an official LOVEwork, designated by the Virginia Tourism
Corporation.
95 S Main St
Using existing brickwork as a guiding grid, artist Gemma Amendola replaced an empty wall on the rear of Texas Inn with this lively, larger-than-life mural! With the help of OASIS Fine Art and Craft and generous crowdfunding, The Sassy Lady came to life in summer 2023 with a retro, sunny, diner-style flair and welcoming invitation to experience the Friendly City.
273 E Market St
The Public Art Forward Mural on the MODdisplays Building represents a new grant awarded in Spring 2023 by Arts Council of the Valley, made possible through the generosity of the Forward Family. Signage near the mural features information about the artist and artwork, including a QR code that links the items portrayed (ranging from a lion and ducks to a sunflower and diver) to stories of their local connections.
150 S Main St
In celebration of its 20th anniversary, Explore More Discovery Museum commissioned this mural to extend the museum’s fun and lively interior to its Newman St entrance.
311 S Main St
In late 2022, Arts Council of the Valley and The Arc of Harrisonburg and Rockingham commissioned 20 artists to use doors as canvases for celebrating inclusion. Doors, on display in Downtown Harrisonburg May-October 2023, were then exhibited at Eastern Mennonite University through May 2024. In August 2024, several doors were moved to Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community, with the rest delivered to Door Sponsors who had supported the project. Michael Hough’s A World of Many Faces is one of two remaining doors installed in Downtown Harrisonburg.
Between 311 S Main St & Harrisonburg Farmers Market
One of two Opening Doors artworks still installed in Downtown Harrisonburg, Guinn’s Calling and Connection invites viewers to consider the means through which they and others may find connection with people and the world around them.
325 N Liberty St
With whimsical dogwood blossoms and a vibrant cardinal, this LOVEwork mural (recognized by the Virginia Tourism Corporation) celebrates how the local cidery “loves its community, loves its craft, and loves its apple-achian heritage.”
153 S Main St
During the summer of 2022, all Best.Weekend.Ever. festival attendees were invited to add their thumbprint – in paint – to this collaborative community mural showcasing Shenandoah Valley vistas and the reminder that YOU belong here!
212 S Main St
Five creatures – based on original paintings by artist Sue Ryan, reproduced on aluminum panels – watch over the patio garden of Heritage Bakery & Cafe. These macro, pattern-filled works joined the downtown Harrisonburg community with support from Summit Community Bank, Heritage Bakery & Cafe, and a Fall 2020 Arts Council of the Valley Creative Inspiration grant.
129 W Wolfe St
This work, located on the retaining wall at Nest Realty, was driven by the desire to visually underscore positive attributes of Harrisonburg and the Shenandoah Valley. After multiple rounds of designs and navigating a challenging painting surface, Kaufmann brought to life this mural echoing the surrounding area’s “perfect balance of rural and urban.” The project was supported, in part, by a Spring 2021 ACV Advancing the Arts Creative Inspiration grant.
311 S Main St
This sculpture, made from welded found steel – farm implements, industrial cut-off, and interesting scrap yard finds – was installed as part of Michael Hough’s October 2021 exhibition at Smith House Galleries, New Works in Metal. The work celebrates the lines, shapes, and negative spaces created by parts of the whole. “As with all found objects,” the artist noted, “each of these pieces of metal had a previous life and use, and I enjoy finding ways of connecting those stories visually.”
311 S Main St
Another sculpture employing welded found steel (and part of Michael Hough’s October 2021 exhibition at Smith House Galleries, New Works in Metal), this work dwells in conversation with its counterpart on the Smith House patio. From the artist: “I am interested in and excited by assemblage, sculpting with found iron and steel elements. The power and weight of the metal sculptures can generate excitement and even fear by their sheer weight and height. I also like to make the viewer smile, and many of my pieces play with found elements to create humor.”
2 N Main St
Composed of glass fragments and plastic refuse, this shimmering 3′ by 5′ mosaic was born from collaborative efforts all across the city of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County! A partnership between nonprofits OASIS Fine Art & Craft and Earth Day Every Day brought a sustainability presentation to Advanced Placement art students at East Rockingham High School; the students, and their art teacher, Christopher Michael, each created unique works of art following – and based upon – that presentation addressing the impacts on our world of single-use plastics. These artworks inspired the final mosaic design (carried out by Barbara Camph and a team of OASIS artists) installed today. This project was supported, in part, by a Fall 2019 ACV Advancing the Arts Grant.
311 S Main St
This friendly, grinning sculpture was built and festooned with layers of color in 2020: community members came together for a “paint day” at the Heritage Park in Broadway, VA, to help William Snyder III bring Annie and three other large figures – Gerome, Maggie, and Sam – to life as part of Snyder’s 10,000 Smiles project. What began as a collection of “doodles” became a movement to spread joy far and wide during the Covid-19 pandemic.
With community help, all four smiling figures were moved around Broadway for passersby to discover and enjoy; Annie eventually landed on the Smith House porch and has been generating thousands of smiles since!
103 S Main St
This glass and wood mosaic LOVEwork (identified by the Virginia Tourism Corporation) was built by OASIS artists, community volunteers, and students from Harrisonburg High School. The uplifting mosaic incorporates tiles on which the students wrote “love” in their native languages – with 28 different languages featured – celebrating the many cultural backgrounds making Harrisonburg the beautiful community it is.
60 W Market St
Artist Wellington “Woody” Corbin painted this acrylic and lacquer mural in November 2019 to memorialize the fresh air-filled, autumnal tree-lined view from the back of then-building owner Dan Brubaker’s home.
103 S Main St
Led by silversmith Sarah Lock – and in collaboration with Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance – a group of artists from OASIS Fine Art & Craft designed this printed metal mural. The work gives an appreciative shoutout to several of Harrisonburg’s historic and iconic structures and spaces, including the Springhouse; Massanutten mountain; Rockingham County Courthouse; First Presbyterian Church; First National Bank of Harrisonburg; Massanutten Regional Library; and the Hardesty Higgins House.
Between 311 S Main St & Harrisonburg Farmers Market
Dedicated in May 2022, this art installation was designed to embody our community’s diversity and consider how ideas of inclusivity and multiculturalism translate into a visual experience. With artist Jeff Guinn, Arts Council of the Valley and Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance collaborated on this public art project.
Intended for all community members to enjoy, Language of Love celebrates what local students and their families shared with the artist regarding what they value about living in the Friendly City – from the area’s natural beauty to the welcoming spirit and inclusivity. The flowing shapes of the sculpture represent the physical geography of our area, as well as the movement of shared language and experiences between people. Begun in Fall 2018 with a nationwide call for artists to commission a permanent sculpture to be placed alongside Harrisonburg’s existing LOVEworks sculpture, the project experienced some pandemic delays before culminating in a community painting day to stencil culturally significant images on the surface of the structure.
80 S Main St
The surreal, spirited mural in downtown Harrisonburg sporting human-sized french fries and a hat-wearing fish is a standout view on the Jack Brown’s Beer & Burger Joint patio. A collaborative work between artists Erin Murray and Torie Topor – as well as restaurant owner Aaron Ludwig – this mural celebrates local spirit, featuring Shenandoah Valley imagery and depicting several characters/motifs from within the restaurant itself. If you look closely, you may even find a few familiar faces in the series of painted Polaroids.
120 W Wolfe St
Artist Lacey Vilandry’s first large-scale mural – a swirling snippet of galactic magic – greets all who visit Restless Moons Brewing. Incorporating a combination of spray and latex paints, this mural was created in tandem with the brewery’s re-opening in 2018. Vilandry shared, “I am a firm believer that art should be accessible for everyone, and murals make that possible.”
409 S Main St
‘Faces of Diversity’ is an international social art project utilizing hands-on activities combined with intentional dialogue about race, culture, and socio-economics to help participants see how we’re all connected and special in our own way.
With the help of Any Given Child Shenandoah Valley (nonprofit organization focusing on equitable arts access for all K-8 students in Harrisonburg City and Rockingham County schools), and a Spring 2017 Arts Council of the Valley Advancing the Arts grant, artist and project creator Edwin Gil met with local kindergarten and first grade classes to adorn recycled glass tiles with their own unique fingerprints; these special pieces fill the background of the artwork, surrounding a painting of a child (whose likeness is a fusion of three different student participants).
Old S High St x W Bruce St.
The powerful pop of color at the corner of Old South High Street and West Bruce Street was accomplished by artist Torie Topor and a team of about 25 girls (ages eight to thirteen). With Topor’s design in place, the girls each made their mark on the mural, adding a lively array of hues and patterns to the lower half of the work.
165 S Main St
Drawing inspiration from musician King Tuff’s Bad Thing music video and Zoltar, the antique fortune-teller machine in the 1988 film Big, this mural also looks to the style of an old pinball machine and features components that glow under a black light!
135 N Mason St
Envisioned by Arts Council of the Valley, Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance, and the City of Harrisonburg as a project to stimulate arts revitalization in downtown Harrisonburg, the campaign for a mural to adorn the Elizabeth Street Parking Deck began with a wide call to artists for artwork concepts. Andre Shank’s designs were selected by group consensus (including voting on social media) and grew to become today’s energy-filled mural commemorating the legacy of renowned Harrisonburg educator, Lucy Simms.
Lucy Simms, born into slavery in 1856, grew up in Harrisonburg before attending Hampton University and dedicating a lifetime career to educating children in Harrisonburg until her death in 1934. Eighty-one years later, Andre Shank, who also grew up in Harrisonburg, painted this powerful mural in her likeness with latex and spray paint.
Between 311 S Main St & Harrisonburg Farmers Market
Each of the four letters of LOVEworks Harrisonburg represents one of four focus areas – ethnic and cultural diversity, agricultural heritage, outdoor recreation, and the arts – and is constructed of locally sourced and repurposed materials. This homegrown, heart-filled sculpture is the perfect backdrop for photo opportunities, performance art, picnicking, and other forms of community engagement in historic downtown Harrisonburg.
Developed as part of the 2013 Virginia is for Lovers social media marketing campaign by the Virginia Tourism Corporation, this installation received additional support from Harrisonburg Tourism, Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance, and Arts Council of the Valley, as well as contributions from individual and business community partners.
91 N Main St
Prior to autumn 2011, the mural featured in this location was that of a boy fishing near a covered bridge. Artist Tj Warsing (who, at the time, operated an art gallery and tattoo parlor behind this wall) and his friend Greg Ballou, replaced the work with a playful, fantastical scene: music, children, dragons, and dinosaurs (complete with glassy 3D creature eyes).
144 N Liberty St
Painted by artist Kurt Rosenberger and a band of volunteers in summer 2011, this mural was an initiative of local nonprofit The New Community Project. The dreamlike, almost Seuss-like, composition features giant plant life and a breeze of dandelion seeds and music notes.
From the artist: “The little girl on the tricycle has had some different faces over the years, I had put a face on it originally but thought it was better just blank.”
311 S Main St
Ceramicist Sukjin Choi’s 190 meticulously crafted tile works, laden with flowing floral designs, add serenity to the gardens (for sculpture and vegetation alike) they enclose.
174 S Main St
This inviting tile mosaic was designed as a tribute to Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, which was featured in Massanutten Regional Library’s first year participating in the National Endowment for the Arts’ Big Read Project. The mosaic wall, depicting a mockingbird perched atop a tangling vine of bittersweet, dwells just ahead of the entrance to the Central Library.
Gusler, a professor of the arts at Eastern Mennonite University, installed the mosaic with help from several of her students.
Ott St x Martin Luther King, Jr. Way
The oldest existing exterior mural in Harrisonburg, Sierra in September fills its retaining wall with whimsical floral details that enliven the street no matter the season. This work was designed and painted by artist Trudy Cole in cooperation with United Way of Harrisonburg & Rockingham County; James Madison University School of Art and Art History (now School of Art, Design, and Art History); Harrisonburg-Rockingham Chamber of Commerce; and Harrisonburg Public Works.
Federal Building, 116 N Main St
Formerly the Post Office in Harrisonburg, the Federal Building houses this long, large, vignette-filled mural (detail shown above) originally painted in 1943 by William H. Calfee. The tempera work was restored in the 1970s by Hiram Hoeltzer, and again in 2023 by Michael Kirby.
Commissioned through a project from the U.S. Department of the Treasury – an effort to employ Americans during the Great Depression and make art widely accessible in frequently-visited spaces such as post offices – Calfee painted this mural to depict scenes of rural valley life. The work is split into three themed sections: Trading, Courthouse Square, and County Fair.
Please note: this mural is not accessible to the public at this time.
Corner of S Liberty St & S Main St
Cast in bronze atop a granite base, this statue by Charles Keck serves as a World War I memorial and was installed by the Dayton American Legion Post 27 on July 4th, 1924. A scroll tucked under the statue’s right arm honors 55 servicemen from the Harrisonburg-Rockingham County area; incised in the base are the words, “THEY TASTED DEATH IN YOUTH THAT LIBERTY MIGHT GROW OLD.” Lady Liberty, also known as “the Guardian Downtown,” was restored in 2024.
80 Court Square
Manufactured by J.W. Fiske of New York, this cast-iron statue (along with a drinking fountain base) was installed at the request of a local chapter of the National Women’s Christian Temperance Union in 1904.
Over time, the statue was repeatedly defaced; though its head was replaced in 1995, it was to again be stolen from the statue (along with its right hand and dove). The head was never recovered. This history of vandalism led to the statue’s removal from the fountain in 2004 and extended sojourn in the Rockingham County Courthouse basement. Thanks to funding from the Margaret Grattan-Weaver Foundation, the statue was restored (through the process of making a cast of an identical statue) by Fine Line Architectural Detailing.
174 S Main St
This bronze work of art was gifted to Central Library (branch of Massanutten Regional Library) in memory of former board member, Sandra L. Eagle.
153 S Main St
This cactus- and sunshine-filled mural just above the back patio of Clementine Cafe directs the wanderer to the adjoining restaurant and event spaces “for adventure, romance, & mystery…”
9911 Lee Hwy (Weyers Cave) & US-11 (Timberville)
