Bead Town Prints Available for Sale

NATCHITOCHES – Three hundred limited edition canvas prints of artist Stephan Wanger’s “Un Rue Principale en Louisiane (A Main Street of Louisiana)” are available for sale with proceeds going to the Natchitoches Legacy Art Project, an educational trust to benefit Natchitoches parish students. Prints are signed and numbered 52-inch x 9-inch versions of Wanger’s 48 x 8-foot bead mural completed in 2013 as part of the Natchitoches Tri-Centennial that depicts a panoramic view of Front Street and Cane River in a composition made of Mardi Gras beads.

            The prints are available for $300 plus shipping.

            Wanger is a German-born artist who moved to New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and began creating large-scale works of art using discarded Mardi Gras beads. Bead Town murals are a tribute to Louisiana culture as well as a means of raising awareness about recycling and using upcycled materials in fine art. His work has appeared in several Main Street communities in Louisiana, including New Orleans, Denham Springs and Slidell.

            Wanger spent several months utilizing facilities and resources at Northwestern State University in creating the mural, which in December 2013 achieved a Guinness World Record as the largest bead mural in the world at that time.  Many members of the community, school groups and other volunteers participated in the mural’s creation. The Natchitoches mural is intricately detailed and incorporates many local cultural symbols.

            For information on purchasing Bead Town prints, contact Pam Hetherwick at (318) 357-5701or e-mail Hetherwickp@nsula.edu.

Samples of Wanger’s work can be viewed at galeriaalegria.com and at Facebook.com/BeadTownNatchitoches.