By Fox23.com News Staff
COFFEYVILLE, Kan. — Two artists have been selected to create murals for the Railroad Trestle Mural project in Coffeyville!
The mural project was funded by a $10,000 award given to the City of Coffeyville by the Kansas Arts Commission Division of the Kansas Department of Commerce. The award was part of the 2025-2026 Public Art & Mural Grant.
Chase Hunter, a muralist and designer known for his work in downtown Independence, and Ashley Tatman, a Coffeyville artist and the Communications Manager for the City of Coffeyville, were chosen as this year’s muralists.
These two were chosen by the Mural Review board and on top of their talent, they were selected based on set of criteria:
- Creativity
- Design quality
- Safety and material consideration
- Community relevance
- Storytelling
- Installation feasibility
- Long-term maintenance
- Budget
The Mural Review Board and the Coffeyville City Commission agreed on the aforementioned artists and approved their mural designs earlier last week.
“Thank you to everyone who submitted creative ideas for the Railroad Trestle Mural Project,” said the Coffeyville City Commission Community Development Department. “We received several thoughtful concepts from artists who share a passion for Coffeyville’s heritage, history, and visual storytelling.”
Several artists, including the two chosen for the project, submitted during the open call. Neither city administration or the communications department were involved in the selection process to ensure fairness and transparency.
The Railroad Trestle Mural Project is being done through a partnership between the City of Coffeyville and SKOL Railroad. The public art project will be along the railroad trestles and will include four mural designs that will be installed on the 11th Street and 12th Street railroad trestles.
“We are excited to partner with these artists and community stakeholders to create a unified series of murals that celebrate Coffeyville’s history, identity, and community pride,” said the Coffeyville City Commission Community Development Department. “More design previews, timelines and behind-the scenes updates will be shared soon.”
The project is expected to be finished by Summer 2026.
