A group of Miami University art students celebrated the unveiling of their large-scale mural at Newport on the Levee with a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by city officials, including Mayor Tom Guidugli.
The 50-foot by 9-foot mural, installed this month, was the result of a partnership between the city of Newport and Miami University’s Department of Art. The city first approached the university last fall with a request to help enhance the community through public art.
“I’m incredibly excited about public art, and it’s really cool to see how this partnership came to be and what it’s achieved,” Guidugli said. “Arts and culture are important in our society on all levels. It connects us. Murals do that here. And this is going to add to the vibrancy of our city.”
Michael Stillion, assistant teaching professor at Miami, developed a new course around the project, giving students the opportunity to lead the design, painting and installation of the mural. Students painted the artwork on parachute cloth – a material that let them finish the piece on campus in Oxford and later transport and install it in Newport like wallpaper.
“I’m really proud of these students,” Stillion said. “The dedication, the focus, the creativity of these students to work as a team, to be able to pull this off is absolutely amazing.”
About the project
The class gave students hands-on experience with a real client. For some, it has already led to new opportunities. Riley Johnson, an arts management and arts entrepreneurship major, said the project helped her secure funding for a public art initiative in her hometown.
“Right now, actually, I am leading a really large-scale mural project in my hometown of Urbana, Ohio,” Johnson said. “I’ve already gained $10,000 for that project, and the whole community is behind it.”
The mural marks the university’s first-ever mural class. That, in itself, is a milestone, according to Julia Guichard, associate dean for the College of Creative Arts. But more than that, she described it as a model for collaboration between artists, educators, students and community partners.
“You gave us your walls and your trust, and together, we created something lasting,” Guichard said.
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