Downtown Mount Vernon is receiving a vibrant artistic upgrade as the Knox County Convention and Visitors Bureau, in partnership with Experience Mount Vernon, recently launched a unique utility box art project. The initiative aims to infuse public art into the cityscape while highlighting the rich and historic narratives that make Mount Vernon truly special.
Ahead of the Mount Vernon Music & Arts Festival, located at the corner of West High and Public Square, is the most recent utility box highlighting two under told stories focusing on Music & Arts in Mount Vernon. "Mount Vernon is a creative community, where both artists and musicians can explore their style and share their gifts,” said Olivia Toth, marketing manager of the Knox County CVB. "And when we thought about what stories to highlight, we wanted to highlight those that may not have always had the spotlight. Highlighting Marian Anderson’s historical 1930’s performances at the Knox Memorial and paying homage to the Snowden Family Band were great historical moments and people that shaped culture locally and beyond.”
Marian Anderson, a celebrated African-American contralto, performed at the Knox Memorial Theatre in Mount Vernon on two occasions. Her first performance was in 1930, followed by a second in 1939. The local Booker T. Washington Club was responsible for raising the funds to bring her to the city during the Great Depression. Despite her fame, Anderson was denied accommodation at local hotels due to prevailing segregationist policies and stayed with local African-American families instead. Her 1939 performance took place just one month after her historic open-air concert at the Lincoln Memorial, in Washington, D.C, for President Franklin D. Rosevelt, First Lady Elenor Rosevelt and crowd of over 75,000 concertgoers.
The Snowden Family Band, an influential African-American musical group from Knox County, is also paid homage on the utility box art. Utility Box Artist, Emily Morrison, studied old photos and any historic information she could find on the Snowden Family Band. “It was important to me to really pay homage to not only them [The Snowden Family Band], but the instrument (fretless banjo) that played a vital role in their sound and legacy,” said Morrison. According to the history shared from the Kenyon Snowden Mutli-Cultural Center, the band was active from the 1850s to the early 1920s. “Thomas and Ellen Snowden, who were the first black couple to be married in Knox County, were former slaves who immigrated to Ohio in the 1820s and became successful landowners and farmers in the community of Clinton, north of Mount Vernon. Their seven children attended school and performed alongside them in the family band.”
"We hope that when people visit during the Music & Arts Festival, and after, they can admire this unique storytelling, while continuing to explore our history as more art is added into downtown,” added Lacey Filkins, director of Experience Mount Vernon.
Funding for the project comes from the Knox County CVB and Experience Mount Vernon, with additional project support made possible through a grant from the Ariel Foundation. Upon completion, the entire utility box art project will be featured as a key component of the Knox County CVB’s interactive Mount Vernon Art & History Trail. A new initiative being designed to guide visitors through the city's artistic and historical landmarks, Toth says this project is just the beginning. “Our plan is that by 2026, there will be a brand-new way to experience so many of our untold stories, historic gems and public art in downtown.”
