https://www.gofundme.com/pullman-riverside-mural
The Downtown Pullman Association Design Committee and the Pullman Arts Foundation have partnered to bring life to the back side of the Thomas Hammer Coffee/Lily Bee’s building on Main Street in downtown Pullman. This building has a significant impact on the Downtown River Walk as it is large, highly visible, and across the river from the trail. Work is underway to create a mural, titled the Riverside Mural, which will capture a sense of place, highlight the natural environment, and add a splash of fun and color along the river and trail.
The DPA/PAF Mural Committee has selected artist and landscape architect, Tori Shao from a group of sixteen applicants. She has created three concepts that continue the beauty of the river edge and Palouse landscape up the side of the building while creating a sense of discovery for children to find hidden wildlife native to the Palouse.
DPA/PFA have applied for and received two grants; one from the Chamber of Commerce Community Investment Fund and one from the Pullman Civic Trust. In addition, the building owner and individual donations have contributed to making the project halfway to the fundraising goal of $30,000. This is a difficult site that requires insured, professional scaffolding, and safety measures to protect the river, the painters, the team of artists, and the non-profit volunteer organizations leading this project.
Our goal is to raise the next $15,000 by August 15th and be finished painting the mural in September. Any funds over this amount will go to support future public art projects on the Palouse.
Your tax-deductible donation to this community enhancement project can be made through gofundme.com or by mailing a check to the Downtown Pullman Association, 126 S. Grand Ave. Pullman WA 99163, with a note specifying “The Riverside Mural.” DPA Treasurer, Tom Handy, is the grants manager for the project.


Pullman Arts Foundation
Pullman Arts Foundation organizes and supports public murals, exhibitions, and cultural events in the city of Pullman, WA, on the homelands of the Nimiipuu Tribe and Palus people. We connect local, regional, national, and international artists with community members to create unique public murals and cultural events.
Our mission
Our mission is to bring positive transformative change to Pullman, WA, through the arts. We celebrate the world’s creativity while uplifting underrepresented groups. We work with artists to create an inspiring and welcoming space for our current community members and future neighbors.
About us
Pullman Arts Foundation was founded in 2021 as a catalyst for creative expression on the Palouse. Pullman Arts Foundation supports projects that engage local community members and regional artists as well as faculty, staff, and students within Pullman’s own land grant institution, Washington State University. Pullman Arts Foundation is committed to bringing positive change to Pullman through giving local artists and community members a platform to share their ideas, as well as building national and international connections with other artists and communities.
We believe in Pullman
We believe public art and community engagement projects can be an aspect of creative placemaking while fostering important conversations about social justice and diversity. Pullman Arts Foundation believes that the Pullman, WA, community can be more welcoming and inclusive and that it’s okay to admit that we aren’t there yet. We believe that art and cultural events can play a role in helping to tell stories that may not otherwise be told, to make connections that may not otherwise be made, and to bring people together to keep Pullman a colorful, welcoming, and dynamic place to live, work, study and create.
We support
Pullman Arts Foundation stands in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. We call on our community leaders and locally elected officials to say Black Lives Matter and to become antiracists. We acknowledge that centuries of deeply ingrained prejudices continue to endanger the lives of black people, as well as indigenous people and people of color. We stand in solidarity with members of the Asian community who have been the victims of hate crimes in alarming numbers since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. We stand in solidarity with immigrants, the queer community, women, and all people who have been persecuted and discriminated against, and we will work to use our skills and privilege to help where we can.
