Delta College Professor Completes Mural Representing Sanford’s Resilience After 2020 Flood

Delta College Associate Professor of Art, Andrew Rieder, has created a mural in downtown Sanford, showing the community’s s heritage, spirit, strength and resilience, as the town continues to recover from damage caused by flooding from two dam failures in 2020.

The 16-by-72-foot mural, titled “Shine-On Sanford,” was done over the course of a year, and is located at 335 W Saginaw Rd. It took 200 hours to complete.

“I am extremely proud of the final product,” Rieder said. “The process gave me a renewed sense of artistic and professional purpose.”

Reider began the project in June 2021, when Delta Trustee and Sanford resident Stacey Gannon approached him with the idea. He said it was a tremendous opportunity and learning experience.

“I had never painted a mural on site before or painted an image on cinderblock or worked on scaffolding,” Reider said. “The whole experience was a good reminder that the foundational principles of art and design that I teach in the classroom are applicable in all visually creative endeavors.”