Murals & Wall Art
The " Kilcawley Center Farewell Mural" was an ephemeral mural project commemorating the 51 years of Youngstown State University's most lively building. Kilcawley Center is the main hub on campus for all students. It held the majority of YSU's food options, orientation, student club meetings, and almost all social events. The building opening back in 1974 and has been well loved since then. In May of 2025 the building was set to be partially demolished to make way for a newer layout and building design. While losing the original look was sad, faculty, staff and students within the building all felt it was time for change.
I, along with another YSU student, Emma Strope-Downs, and Professor Dragana Crnjak, were approached in January of 2025 with the prospect of designing a mural for the occasion. Through many meetings with current and past faculty, we discovered how connected each felt to there work and career in Kilcawley Center. We developed multiple designs and presented revisions between March and April. I digitally developed the many of the revisions along with the final design. We decided that the mural would be a color by number design so that students and staff could come paint it themselves and pick there own colors. This resulted in a vibrant and emotional final piece that brought both YSU members and the public together.
Since the mural was temporary, it has been demolished as of May 5, 2025.
There were multiple news stations and journals that reported this event. Here are a few links to them:
https://www.wkbn.com/news/local-news/youngstown-news/hands-on-mural-brings-ysu-memories-to-life-before-construction-begins/
https://businessjournaldaily.com/kilcawley-centers-story-told-through-art/