Public Art of the Week

Ben Rathbun, CEO of Rathbun Insurance on Saginaw and Pine streets in Lansing, said at a recent event celebrating his company’s 70th anniversary that the agency was fortunate to have two murals sharing the same wall: one by Brian Whitfield on the outside and a new one by Dustin Hunt and three area students on the inside wall of a new community space and conference room. The new mural is called “Being There Matters Most,” the company’s guiding principle.

The mural, by Nevaeh Jackson, Arely G. Hernanadez and Ivymae Potts, was completed over spring break at a mural camp organized by Hunt’s Lansing company Muralmatics and the youth organization Ready Set ASPIRE.

Rathbun recently completed a $850,000 building upgrade. The mural brings some bright splashes of color to what otherwise would be a typical conference room.

“In addition to the focus on the mural art,” Rathbun said about the mural camp, “there was a focus on professionalism and the entrepreneurial side of being an artist.”

Hunt is making plans for the completion of several murals this summer, and Whitfield is nearing completion on a mural at the Bath food bank headquarters.

BILL CASTANIER

Public Art of the Week is a new feature that rotates with Eyesore of the Week. If you have an idea for either, please email eye@lansingcitypulse.com or call (517) 999-6704.