Sharpsburg Community Library has picked its courtyard muralist, and the winner beat out 26 other applicants for the job. Pittsburgh artist Kian Dubay, who lives in Mt. Washington, was named the selection this week to paint a 10-foot-by-9-foot wall at the library's 1212 Main St. branch, capping off a renovation project that has dragged through budget setbacks and construction delays since late last year.
Dubay was one of three finalists considered for the commission, according to TribLIVE. Library branch manager Sara Mariacher said picking a winner was not easy. Choosing among the three finalists was difficult because all were talented, Mariacher said, adding that the library is excited to work with Dubay and grow something fantastic in the courtyard. Dubay, described as a Pittsburgh activist and artist, proposed specific ways to engage the community in feedback and the creative process, a detail that helped set the pitch apart.
Who Is Kian Dubay?
Dubay has made murals for about five years and founded a studio called The Mural Magic. Past commissions include work for Marriott, Citizens Live Arena, Hershey Movie Productions, the Pittsburgh Foundation, and Pittsburgh International Airport. More recently, Dubay painted the “Power to the Poultry” mural at the airport's Bad Egg restaurant and the sports-themed “Crosby, Clemente and Polamalu” piece elsewhere in the city, according to Book An Artist's artist profile. Dubay is also a Warhol Academy graduate, a two-time AmeriCorps public servant, and brings a background in asset-based community development to the project.
Nanci Goldberg, who runs Sharpsburg-based nonprofit Artspiration and assisted the library with the artist search, praised Dubay's strong mural background and extensive community feedback and collaboration experience, calling the artist very creative. Dubay also demonstrated a comprehension of 21st-century libraries and their functions during the selection process. Library officials credited Goldberg specifically with helping run the search.
The Prompt Behind the Paint
Artspiration's call for artists asked applicants to answer a single creative question: “What can you grow with your imagination?” The request for qualifications, issued ahead of a July 15 deadline, specifically asked designs to reflect the role of a library in a community, according to Associated Artists of Pittsburgh. Dubay said libraries are a particularly fitting space for the project and described the selection as an honor. Community members will get to meet the artist at an event planned for September, with mural painting expected to begin in October.
A Courtyard Years in the Making
The mural is funded through the same pot of money that has powered the library's broader courtyard makeover: a grant from the Allegheny Regional Asset District's Transformative Community Library Fund. Of that funding, $3,000 is earmarked specifically for the artist's supplies, time and skills. The wider RAD grant, which totals $78,324, has also paid for operational evaluation studies and 24/7 remote book pickup lockers, according to the Allegheny Regional Asset District. Those lockers debuted in August 2025 outside the Sharpsburg branch and near Jersey Mike's in neighboring Blawnox.
RAD created the $5 million Transformative Community Library Fund in 2022 to invest over four years in public libraries serving state-designated distressed municipalities across Allegheny County, part of a broader county push to shore up under-resourced branches. The courtyard itself, originally created in 2014 and part of a library expansion completed the following year, hasn't had it easy getting to this point. Initial contractor bids for the reconstruction ranged between $64,000 and $167,000 against a $30,000 budget, forcing library leaders to scale back plans before construction formally started in April.
Trees Down, Fences Up
The renovation work that followed included tree removal, new fencing, and new pavers and hardscape. Tree Pittsburgh helped with the environmental work, with senior arborist Meg Cerveny assisting on that front. The courtyard has been closed for most of the year because of the renovation, though the library itself remained open throughout construction, serving between 2,000 and 2,500 visitors each month as a branch of the Fox Chapel-based Cooper-Siegel Community Library.
With the mural and new furniture installation now standing as the finishing touches, library officials are aiming to wrap up the whole project by fall, with the goal of expanding outdoor programming options once the space reopens. The timing lines up with other investment flowing into Sharpsburg, including a $500,000 state Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program grant announced in July to prepare a former industrial site along the Allegheny River for public access and housing, as previously reported by Hoodline.
-4.webp?w=160&h=400&fit=crop&crop=edges)