A new mural in Swansea, completed earlier this month, is the first in a project aimed at beautifying Lexington and Richland counties in an artful way.

Swansea's new postcard mural, "Greetings from Swansea," was made possible by Keep the Midlands Beautiful, the Town of Swansea and Girls Who Paint. It was paid for using grant funds from Keep America Beautiful and PalmettoPride, according to a release from Keep the Midlands Beautiful. It was free to the town.

The "Greetings from Swansea" mural is one of 19 murals that will be installed throughout municipalities that Keep the Midlands Beautiful serves across Lexington and Richland counties. 

Created by Girls Who Paint, this new art attraction kicking off the Midlands mural series is located on the exterior wall of Parlor 705 at 270 W. Second St. in Swansea.

Each mural in the series will feature a town or city’s name in block letters, filled with symbols that represent the town or city, its county and the state of South Carolina. 

Girls Who Paint is a "female-owned and operated mural company that partners directly with clients to design and paint custom murals and hand-painted wall graphics," according to gwpmurals.com.

To celebrate the mural, a community litter cleanup was held on Friday, July 25, where supplies and refreshments were provided by Keep the Midlands Beautiful. Following the litter cleanup, a ribbon-cutting ceremony took place. 

Keeping the Midlands Beautiful, located at 1305 Augusta Rd. in West Columbia, has served the region for 36 years. “Our mission is to educate, inspire, and empower citizens to improve and beautify the places they live, work, and play through litter prevention, recycling, and beautification,” the release read. 

Keep America Beautiful's litter study discovered 81% of litter is intentional, and individuals are less likely to litter in beautiful areas.

“Beautification is a tactic of litter prevention and art can change a community in a positive way,” Sarah Lyles, executive director of PalmettoPride, said in the media release.  

In 2024, the organization provided supplies for more than 6,000 volunteers, responsible for 738 litter pickup events and helped to remove nearly 190,000 pounds of litter. 

For more information and to register for events, visit kmbsc.org or call 803-733-1139.