Mending Walls Penn State
Mending Walls
...at Penn State
Mending Walls Penn State
Mending Walls Penn State is a registered student organization (RSO) that draws inspiration (and its name) from the collaborative, community-engaged arts program, Mending Walls RVA, whose mission is "to advance social justice by connecting community members from different backgrounds in conversation to foster empathy, understanding, and healing." Pairing up 32 artists from different backgrounds and challenging them to create 16 murals based on race, status, and experience, artist Hamilton Glass created the first Mending Walls project in 2020 in Richmond, VA, as a response to what was going on in the community (and the world) at that time. Focused on the idea of “We Need to Talk,” Mending Walls RVA encouraged the community to have meaningful and healing conversations driven through the medium of art.
To create a similar healing arts project here at University Park, Mending Walls Penn State challenged two student artists in the fall of 2023 to collaborate on designing a mural based on race, status, experience, and the College of Arts and Architecture’s strategic mission of “building a culture of anti-racism and anti-oppression.” To engage as many students in the college as possible, the mural was turned into a “paint by numbers” that any student, no matter their painting experience/level, could help paint. Six “Talking + Painting” sessions were scheduled where students from across the college participated in activities designed to generate meaningful conversations based on lived experiences while they also worked together to paint the mural.
The banner of the mural that hangs on the back of the Visual Arts Building is a daily reminder of the power of art to build connections, celebrate differences, and bring communities closer together. It is also a welcoming beacon to each and every person who travels through the Arts District to assure them of the College of Arts and Architecture’s commitment to establishing “a culture of anti-racism and anti-oppression that embraces individual identities, fosters a culture of inclusion, and promotes equity through curricula, values, standards, ideals, policies, and practices."
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More about Mending Walls RVA
Mending Walls: The Documentary
Mending Walls
Q&A
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How many murals have been completed so far?
Two! The first mural was completed during the 2023-2024 academic year. It was designed by KO Balogun, who was a fourth-year Painting and Drawing BFA student, and Milo Nicely, who was a third-year Painting and Drawing BFA student. The second mural was completed during the 2024-2025 academic year. It was designed by Sarah Nelson, who was a first-year Painting and Drawing BFA student, and Adriana Forsythe, who was a second-year Painting and Drawing BA student with a concurrent major in psychology.
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Through the completion of the last two murals, how many students, faculty, and staff have participated in a “Talking + Painting” session?
More than 130!
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How big is the mural? And the banner of the mural?
They are both 8 feet high x 24 feet wide.
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Where can I find the original mural made of plywood sheets?
The 2023-2024 mural can be found in the main lobby/student lounge of the Bank of America Career Services Building. We are still in the process of finding a home for our 2024-2025 mural.
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Where can I find the banner of the mural?
In June of each year, the banner of the current mural design will be hung on the back of the Visual Arts Building, where it will stay for a year until the next mural design has been completed.
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How do I get involved?
Thinking about joining the Mending Walls Penn State RSO? Do you want to participate in a future Talking + Painting session or apply to be a future mural designer? Want a bit more information? Just complete the Mending Walls Penn State Interest Form. Also visit Mending Walls Penn State on Instagram.
Ideas from Mending Walls RVA...at Penn State
It all started with a documentary and a Penn State connection! In 2021, after the entire staff in the College of Arts and Architecture was asked to find ways to support the College’s strategic goal dedicated to “establishing a culture of anti-racism and anti-oppression,” Student Engagement Director Robin Bierly reached out to her longtime friend Pam Hervey (Journalism '94, Bellisario College of Communications), who had just produced and directed with her husband an Emmy Award-winning documentary about a collaborative, community-engaged arts program in Richmond, VA, called Mending Walls.
After convincing Hervey and Hamilton Glass to make the trek to campus in 2022 during the cold and snowy month of February for a screening of the documentary and follow-up panel discussion, the Arts and Architecture Arts Ambassadors set about gathering an audience. One of the students in the audience that night, KO Balogun, was especially inspired by the event to bring the idea of Mending Walls to Penn State and complete a Mending Walls project before he graduated.
With the help of Matt Olson (Facilities Manager), Rudy Shepherd (Painting and Drawing faculty), Robin Bierly (Student Engagement Director), Cory Korsah (Graphic Design undergraduate), and Tio Ogunranti (Digital Art and Media Design undergraduate), KO’s dream of designing and completing a Mending Walls project came to fruition. The concept of his design was inspired by his younger sister’s desire to enter the field of art therapy and included symbols and a color palette designed by fellow art student, Milo Nicely, that represent growth and light.
