HUNTER SMITH/THE EXPRESS
Yuriy Karabash is pictured adding details to a dog in the mural.

From Lock Haven Express

BELLEFONTE — Bellefonte is the latest canvas for acclaimed muralists Michael Pilato and Yuriy Karabash. Their latest creation, Inspiration Bellefonte, is the newest addition to the World Mural project, a series of murals designed to connect diverse communities around the world.

The 30-foot-tall mural on the side of the Waffle Shop in Bellefonte facing Perry Lane was unveiled Friday at the Bellefonte Arts & Crafts Fair, introducing visitors and residents to the city’s rich history and the influential figures who have shaped it.

Building on Pilato’s first major mural projects in State College and Williamsport, the works in the World Mural project feature detailed portraits of prominent individuals, including historical figures, political leaders, literary figures, entertainers, and other important members of the community.

“My favorite mural is always the one we just did. And that is the best work Yuriy and I have ever done,” said Pilato, who visited Bellefonte Arts and Crafts over the weekend to present the project to the public.

Inspiration Bellefonte celebrates the community’s black history and features such personalities as The Mills Brothers, a groundbreaking African-American jazz and pop vocal quartet, local barber William H. Mills, who once cut the hair of abolitionist Frederick Douglass, and “Mama King”, a pastor, historian, and professor of African-American studies at Penn State; and slaves who used the Underground Railroad.

“It’s about highlighting an amazing story that needs to be told in Bellefonte. I wanted to start with African Americans because they have always been second,” he said about the decision to put black stories at the center of the artwork.

Michael says he felt the time had come to tell their story because the community had made so much progress since he was a child in the 1970s.

The project began when Pilato met his friend Duane Reese, owner of the Waffle Shops on Bellefonte and College Avenue, at Chumley’s in State College.

During their chance meeting, the two discussed Michael’s desire to start a new project in Bellefonte, close to his family who are from State College.

Reese loved the idea and offered the site of his Bellefonte restaurant in a part of town now known as Mural Alley. The Bellefonte airmail-themed mural by New York City-based artist duo KEY DETAIL was installed on the same street a month ago.

“The patron, Duane Reese, who owns the Waffle Shop, has treated us as artists with great respect. He is a true benefactor of the arts and the community,” said Pilato, who says he sees Bellefonte in a “golden age.”

“Bellefonte is experiencing a renaissance,” he said.

“And when you experience a Renaissance, you need a Medici,” said Pilato, comparing Reese to the prolific art patron in Renaissance Florence, Italy.

Pilato describes the work of him and his partner Yuriy as “living murals” because they evolve and expand over time and reflect ongoing stories of the community.

Community members will have the opportunity to decide which stories are featured as the mural evolves in future updates.

“Matt, the historian here in Bellefonte, has been very helpful in gathering information, such as Frederick Douglass getting his hair cut by Mr. Mills, and Amelia Earhart’s visit to town, who was excited about the Bush House and kept talking about Donna King and the Underground Railroad,” said Pilate.

Grandfather William H. Mills sits on the far left of the painting and is one of the installation’s standout subjects. Mills, grandfather of the Mills Brothers, a group that defied the odds because they were black and broke racial barriers to become some of the country’s most successful musicians, owned and operated a barbershop in Bellefonte from 1871 to 1931.

In March 1872, Mills had the opportunity to cut the hair of abolitionist Frederick Douglass during a nationwide lecture tour; a historic vignette depicted in the mural.

Mills was instrumental in the desegregation of Bellefonte’s schools in 1885 and fought in the Sixth “Colored” Regiment during the Civil War.

The painter couple is happy to be part of the Bellefonte community.

“We are just happy to be a small part of this renaissance,” said Pilate. “I just love what’s going on here. Just look at the art festivals that are happening there. Look at all the new facilities, the breweries, the historical work they’re doing, the new murals, they’re doing the homestead. It’s just great, I love Bellefonte.”