Painting Begins on New Library Mural

Painting has begun on a new mural inside Northern Michigan University's Lydia M. Olson Library, the design a nod to the geese that make their home on campus.

These oft-seen staples of local wildlife inspired this year's student artist, Rachel Vansurksum, to design the mural, having seen the geese while walking across campus, thinking about what she could submit to the Library Mural Committee.

"I know people were looking for something that represented them, that they wanted to see permanently represented within their space," said Vansurksum, a sophomore art and design major. "I feel like, weirdly, these geese are very important to our student identity."

Vansurksum's mural was chosen as part of a student-led process conducted by the Library Mural Committee. The committee, made up of students, is the same one that initiated the process to install another mural on campus last year, this one also in the library and designed by student artist Sydney Kuipers. That same process was followed in procuring the design for this new library mural.

Library Director Emera Bridger Wilson said the entire process was a good example of students working with the university to effect positive change.

"Some major feedback we got last winter when we opened was there was no warmth or interest in the space, there was no color," Bridger Wilson said of the newly renovated library. "I think the students saw (the original mural) as a really good example of us listening to them … It really did sow the seeds that we were open and aware of their concerns."

When the committee wanted to install a second mural, Bridger Wilson was happy to provide the space.

The committee's chosen theme for this year was "Growing and Learning Together." The call for submissions was put out on The Hub and submitted artwork went through a vetting process before each design was released to students for a vote.

Vansurksum's winning mural is now being painted on a wall in the Learning Commons, a highly visible student-centered space in the library, making it perfect for this student-created artwork, said committee President Presley Wyatt, a political science and philosophy major.

"I'm very grateful that we have such a unique opportunity to truly shape our campus environment - it's such a permanent thing, and the library is allowing us to do this huge project," Wyatt said.

With two murals under its belt, Wyatt said the committee's goal is to bring its framework and structure for installing student-designed artwork to other campus facilities, a sentiment echoed by the committee's founder, Vann Squier, a senior mechanical engineering major who created the committee as her Student Leader Fellowship Program Community Service Internship.

"We've opened the eyes to this fresh possibility and it's really exciting to have inspired that in other people," Squier said. "This project represents something bigger than the murals - it's also the fact that it's inspiring students to bring change about on campus and it's showcasing to students how much they're capable of, how much power they have in the spaces they operate in, that they could just have an idea and make that idea happen."

Painting continues this month with open hours Monday through Wednesday from 5 to 8 p.m., Thursdays from 5 to 7 p.m. and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Students, faculty, staff and community members are welcome to attend during these times and help paint.

The new mural is planned to be completed on Sunday, Nov. 22.

Contact [email protected] for more information or to join the Library Mural Committee, which meets Mondays at 6 p.m. in 214 Harden Hall.