Murals Breathe Life into Dennis Port AFCC Grants at Work
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he village of Dennis Port may be small in stature, but these days it is a thriving section of Cape Cod thanks to a revitalization effort that has focused not only business and commerce, but art. It began in 2012 with a mural on a brick wall facing Hall Street, featuring an old-fashioned schooner, representing the type that had once docked in Dennis Port. In 2015, the village added to its street art with a second mural on an even larger wall in the municipal parking lot; this one featured several sunfish sailing on the water. A third is going up in Pocket Park that will evoke memories of a simpler time. It will feature a vintage postcard with the word Dennis Port on it. Inside each letter will be images depicting bygone eras of old Dennis Port, including Sea View Playland’s Barn of Fun and a street scene from the 1950s when the area was once bustling. In 1985, the bustling nature of the village took a turn for the worse when Patriot Square went in on Route 134 in South Dennis. “It sounded the death knell,” said Don Robitaille, chair of the Dennis Port Revitalization Committee. “Everybody went to
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the mall and abandoned downtown Dennis Port which was in a state of disrepair for 10, 15, 20 years.” In the 1990s, the town began to look for ways it could revitalize Dennis Port, forming a committee that, in recent years, has chosen to focus on art as part of its work. Hans de Castellane has been the artist responsible for that arm of the committee’s focus, designing each one of the murals which have been funded, in part, by grants from the AFCC. “The AFCC has been very supportive of all three murals,” Robitaille said. “They have been very generous.” While de Castellane has been the creative force behind the murals, he has employed local students to help him with the implementation. He will do so once again, painting alongside them as they help turn a blank wall into something beautiful. “I’m seeking out kids who are really enthusiastic about art, who want to learn and want to be a part of a project like this,” he said, adding that “I would have loved to have done something like this when I was a kid.” One of the most rewarding aspects of his job is being able to instill a love of art in others through teaching. “I teach because kids remind me how lucky I am to do this for a living,” he said. “And when you teach a kid to paint, it is like teaching them magic.” Together, de Castellane and a few lucky students will create that magic through this month and into September when he anticipates the project will be completed. When finished, the mural will breathe even more life into the resurgent village. “Out of all the murals this one will resonate the most,” said de Castellane. “There are a lot of folks who were really proud of Dennis Port back in the day and were sad to see it fall off. This [mural] is paying tribute to that golden era.”
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