feature / college-news / graphic-design / students
July 06, 2022
By Solvej Schou

‘HEALING OUR INNER CHILD’: STUDENTS UNVEIL A BRIGHT, BOLD MURAL AT ARTCENTER’S SOUTH CAMPUS

Featuring the words “our” and “home” painted in large vertical type, the new mural in the lobby of ArtCenter’s 1111 building (South Campus) is a bold declaration of community and hope.  

Filled with plants, smiley faces, hearts and other shapes in bright yellow, green, purple, pink and red, the mural by Graphic Design students Evelyn Luu and Josse Slater reflects symbols of growth.  

“Our concept focuses on the idea of healing our inner child,” wrote Luu and Slater in their winning design proposal, their answer to the College’s call for entries for a mural project that would allow students to express and process their COVID-19 pandemic experience in a shared communal space.

“Many of us are going through the process of discovering our identity with the help of our peers and the space we learn in,” they wrote. “While being more open about our mental health and journey through self-identity, we hope to embrace our ‘home’ and pursue our passions to heal our inner children.”  

Over several paint-soaked days in May, Luu, Slater and six other students—Becky Seo, Ruben Griggs, Sean Nagao, Rebecca Brown, Rachael Chan and Kelly Chen—came together in person and installed the mural, with help from their installation advisor, Illustration instructor and alumnus Eric Nyquist (BFA 07).  

The idea of a student-led mural project came from Digital Content Director Christine Spines and Digital Content Producer Lauren Mahoney, in ArtCenter’s Marketing and Communications Department. They put out the call for design proposals last September. Luu and Slater’s mural design was picked this year.  

“Many students we interviewed in 2021, for a video about their experience during the pandemic, discussed how much isolation had caused them to miss the community of their peers,” says Mahoney. “They were looking for more ways to create community at the College.”  

Watch a video of the making of the 1111 mural, below.