Impact Art — public murals in Kearney, Nebraska

Impact Art collage: the IMPACT art logo and the tagline 'Bold art. Strong communities. Lasting impact.' over a collage of murals — a Holdrege cornfield, the Cambridge community panorama, the UNK Lopers wall, the Kearney 150th mural with a bison and the Kearney water tower, and the veterans tribute mural — with lime-green paint splatters

NEBRASKA BASED · NONPROFIT PUBLIC ART

Impact Art creates collaborative murals with the community, transforming blank walls into landmarks, and mentoring the artists who paint them. We believe art ignites change.

In the collage: a Holdrege cornfield, the Cambridge community panorama, the UNK Lopers wall, the Kearney 150th mural, and the veterans tribute mural.

Our mission

The mission of Impact Art is to promote and create positive public art in the community of Kearney and the surrounding area as we:

  • mentor adult and young artists

  • beautify, revitalize, and educate the community

  • contribute to Kearney and other communities' economies by enhancing cultural tourism

  • reflect faith, hope, and purpose through art that uplifts and inspires

The Crane Mural's colorful geometric sandhill cranes wrapping a white building in the Bricks Creative District, with the Impact Art trailer parked in front Corner view of The Crane Mural, with abstract cranes and oversized bold flowers wrapping two sides of the building
Featured project

The Crane Mural

Kearney’s newest wall: big, colorful geometric sandhill cranes in flight across the building at 2315 Central Ave in the Bricks Creative District — across 23rd Street from the Museum of Nebraska Art. The mural was designed by Steve Wolf and painted by Impact Art.

It wraps the corner — two-thirds faces the street, one-third the alley — with oversized flowers in red, blue, and yellow climbing the side wall. The Kearney Hub put the debut on the front page, July 25, 2026: “Art Takes Flight.”

The murals

Nearly a decade of walls across Kearney — painted with building owners, donors, students, and neighbors. Tap any mural for a closer look.

Kearney Hub front page, Saturday, July 25, 2026 — 'Art Takes Flight: Creative District celebrates new mural,' showing The Crane Mural and the Impact Art trailer
In the press “Art Takes Flight” The Kearney Hub put The Crane Mural on the front page — Creative District celebrates new mural, Saturday, July 25, 2026.
The Impact Art team holding their awards at the PRISM Award ceremony, posed in front of a gold sequin backdrop with balloons
Award PRISM Award The Impact Art team receiving the PRISM Award — recognition for the murals and mentoring bringing communities together across Nebraska.

In the press

Stories about Impact Art — and about the Kearney arts scene our murals help make — from national features to hometown news.

Livability · January 2025

Cultivate a Love for the Arts in Kearney, NE

Livability’s Kearney arts feature leads with Impact Art’s story: the Lincoln Highway mural ten years ago, Derek pulling in Josh Arias and Katherine, registering the nonprofit — and nearly two dozen murals across the Kearney region since.

Read the story →
Visit Kearney · SMU DataArts · 2025

Kearney Makes Top 100 Most Arts-Vibrant Communities

Kearney landed on the 2025 Arts Vibrancy Index Top 100 — the only Nebraska community on the list — and many of Impact Art’s murals are part of the public art scene that earned it.

Read the story →
KNOP News 2 · October 26, 2021 · By Beatriz Reyna

Impact Art Inspires New Generation of Artists

KNOP profiles the nonprofit led by self-taught graffiti artist Josh Arias and Derek Rusher — a partnership that began in 2019 teaching art to at-risk youth at Kearney’s Youth Rehabilitation and Treatment Center, with more than a dozen murals painted across downtown Kearney and surrounding communities.

Read the story →
Hastings College · 2019

Artist-CEO Puts Community First

Hastings College profiles alumnus Derek Rusher, a 2002 art education grad: ten years teaching art at the Youth Rehabilitation Center (DHHS Employee of the Year, 2012), founding Impact Art in 2017, and the Chamber CEO role — name-checking the library books, the Bruce Furniture cranes, the VFW flag, the Lincoln Highway wall, and the Ravenna eclipse trailer.

Read the story →

Watch the work

Timelapses, live painting, and project days — videos from the wall, posted to our Facebook page, newest first.

Welcome to Cambridge mural timelapse — Cambridge, Nebraska Ryan Cramer’s woodcut design goes up on the Faw Motor Co. building — projected at night, spray-painted by day. Watch on Facebook →
Crane mural timelapse — The Bricks Creative District, Kearney The full creation of the colorful geometric crane mural, designed by Steve Wolf. Watch on Facebook →
Veterans mural timelapse — Gibbon, Nebraska A patriotic wall honoring U.S. service members — the waving flag, a Marine, a Sailor with the POW-MIA flag, flag bearers, and a vintage red pickup — painted in partnership with the Gibbon Beautification Foundation. Watch on Facebook →
Live painting at carnivals and festivals — hire Impact Art for your event Watch on Facebook →
Cambridge, Nebraska — Oct 2024 Watch on Facebook →
Sep 2024 Watch on Facebook →
Aug 2024 Watch on Facebook →
Downtown Kearney — Jul 2024 Watch on Facebook →
Apr 2024 Watch on Facebook →
Nov 2023 Watch on Facebook →
Nov 2023 Watch on Facebook →
Cambridge, Nebraska — Aug 2022 Watch on Facebook →
Nov 2020 Watch on Facebook →
Aug 2020 Watch on Facebook →

Watch more on Facebook

Programs

Murals are the visible part. The programs underneath them are how new artists — and new walls — get started.

Internship Program

Hands-on mentorship for emerging artists: design, scaffolding, paint, and the business of public art — learned on real walls, alongside working artists.

Ask about internships

Apply for a Mural

Own a wall in Kearney or the surrounding area? We partner with businesses, cities, and organizations to design murals that tell your story and draw a crowd.

Start a mural conversation

Community Art Programs

School programs, ESL art, and special-needs art programming are in development — built with the same collaborative model as our murals. Want to help launch one?

Partner with us
Youth graffiti workshop group photo: young artists and mentors pose behind their colorful 'Hello' graffiti panel, with a crate of spray cans in front
Youth graffiti workshop — young artists show off their “Hello” panel, spray cans at the ready.

Meet the team

Artists, connectors, and neighbors — the people behind the scaffolding. Tap a card to read their bio.

Contact us

A wall to paint, an artist to mentor, a program to build — we’d love to hear about it.

Start a mural conversation

Tell us about your wall or idea. Sending opens your email app with the message ready to go.