Citizen of the Year: Joe Prescher
Joe Prescher, the primary artist behind the new Oxford Hive Mural Uptown, is this year's Citizen of the Year recipient from the Oxford Kiwanis Club.
Local artist Joe Prescher has been recognized as Oxford Citizen of the Year for his leadership in 2024 in creating the Oxford Hive Mural, a massive work of art spanning two walls in the alley south of High Street between Main and Poplar streets.
Bill Snavely, who nominated Prescher for Citizen of the Year, wrote “Joe has long been a promoter of art in our community … This year, though, was different. Believing in the value of public art in the community, Joe undertook the massive project of imagining and creating the … mural.”
The idea of painting a beehive was inspired by Oxford’s history with beekeeping. In 1852, Oxford resident Lorenzo L. Langstroth invented the Langstroth hive which revolutionized the honey industry.
Because the alley walls are close together, Prescher told the Oxford Free Press in September that he worked out a concept that doesn’t have to be viewed at a distance. “It had to be something a little more experiential, something a little more sensory,” Prescher told the Free Press. “Pattern came up, and from pattern … the idea of a honeycomb came to mind. It was pretty much set from there.”
The mural was done in three phases. The first phase filled the bottom half of each wall with honeycomb, the second phase filled the top half of the mural, and the third phase added giant bees.
“People just get really happy when they see it,” Prescher told the Journal-News in October. “I couldn’t hope for more than what’s happened. They talk about it, tell their friends, and get selfies with it. People really love and enjoy it.”
“While the mural is expertly done and a welcome addition to Uptown Oxford,” Snavely wrote in his nomination of Prescher, “what is most noteworthy is Joe's effective efforts to get everyone in the community to join in and be a part of it.”
Masha Stepanova, who also nominated Prescher, concurred. “The enormity of the mural, the number of community members, students, high school groups, and passerby that Joe involved in the painting of it is astounding and a true reflection of the enormity of his persistence and dedication to this community.”
Stepanova wrote that Prescher had spent years working to bring public art to Oxford. Prescher founded Oxford Visual Arts Connection, a website and a Facebook page that provides a place to share community arts news, display works of art, and promote local arts initiatives. Prescher was also a founding member of the Public Arts Commission of Oxford, which plans for the promotion of public art in the community.
The Oxford Hive was not Prescher’s first local mural. In 2019, he was the lead artist in painting Changemakers of Oxford, a 24-foot-by-8-foot mural that had been designed by Talawanda High School student Ella Cope for her Girl Scout merit badge.
“It's one thing to believe in the power of public art — quite another to involve the entire community in making it happen,” Snavely wrote. “For the gift of his talent, creativity, and community involvement, I believe Joe Prescher is very deserving of this year's Citizen of the Year recognition.”
