YSU Art Department helping to revitalize East Liverpool

EAST LIVERPOOL, Ohio - East Liverpool has been looking to revitalize its downtown area, and now a local university is helping out.
The city has partnered with the YSU Art Department to bring murals to the downtown area to help beautify areas and encourage new business in the area.
Recently, it was announced that Urban Design Associates out of Pittsburgh is helping establish a new vision for the look of Downtown East Liverpool with large murals to be painted on buildings along with a focus on bringing in new businesses that will attract more people.
Currently, students are painting a mural on a retaining wall along Bradshaw Avenue.
"I just thought you know, it would be something nice to do over the Summer and something nice for the town," said Lindsay DeLullo, a Junior Art Major at YSU.
We caught up with DeLullo, who was painting a proud piece of East Liverpool's past.
"This is a pottery wheel, it’s actually in the ceramics museum down the street and the apprentices would turn it while the potter was shaping the pots so they’re coming off the wheel here and we thought it would be like a nice dynamic thing to include from the town’s past," DeLullo said.
This mural was the vision of Sue Ingram, who was a longtime advocate of East Liverpool.
"She was a huge community advocate and always helping those in need and this was a project of hers," said East Liverpool Mayor Greg Bricker.
"She liked to keep the community clean and she would always get people together and do a lot of cleanup and gather groups to get donations for this wall," said Braidy Ingram, Sue's brother.
Unfortunately, Sue died from Covid before the project began.
Her family and the city are now finishing the project in her honor.
"We are going to love it, this will mean the world to us," Ingram said.
"We’re going to dedicate the wall to Sue, we’re going to do a portrait of Sue up on the wall and keep her with us," Mayor Bricker said.
Bricker is hoping this collaboration is just the beginning for the city and these YSU art students.
"They have that artistic mindset and they’ve seen a lot of blank canvasses in the city so I’m hoping other businesses see the opportunity and do some murals on their buildings," Mayor Bricker said.
Students are hoping to get the mural done by Thursday.