The long-awaited transformation of the Stop & Shop parking lot wall in the Gateway to the Island is set to take place tomorrow, Saturday, May 2, at 11 a.m., when the Tisbury mural is to be unveiled. This will be the public’s first viewing of the massive public art project, and a chance for all to meet the design artists, Anne Grandin and Thomas Larson, and the many art students and Island artists who worked alongside them to produce the historical Vineyard mural.

The mural project began in January 2008, when the Tisbury selectmen sanctioned a citizens’ proposal to paint a mural on the exterior north wall of the Stop & Shop grocery store, creating a new view for Island residents and for visitors arriving through the Steamship Authority port in Vineyard Haven.

Late last summer a call went out to Island artists for design entries. Following a month-long public comment period in September, when the submitted designs were on display at the Vineyard Haven Public Library, a final selection was made.

Production began in October at the regional high school, with the art department collaborating with the building trades program, whose students prepared the panels for production. A team of Island art students, under the supervision of the high school art director Paul Brissette, assisted the artist with the painting of the mural. Layout of the mural began in the fall, and painting began in January with current and graduate art students, along with known Island artists.

All are invited to the unveiling at the Stop & Shop parking lot across from the Steamship Authority. The rain date is Sunday, May 3.