New Opportunities for Art Students

From photography hanging in the hallways to murals painted along your path to an upcoming “legacy” wall, student artwork has been a growing part of Leyden’s interior, and that trend will only continue as the new construction opens.. Art department chairperson Ms. Anna Reed explained there will be a “large mural in the new wing, about 17×45 feet.” This mural began about two years ago as an art club idea. But the students encountered difficulties finding a consulting artist to help with the project. Since then they have been painting and creating after school to have it open in time for all of us to see. Richard Robles, a student involved in the mural at East Leyden stated, “Being involved in this is quite an honor because a mural can be thought of as a landmark.” Robles is happy he gets to go to the meetings and contribute to these big decisions. 

A new project that will involve only the seniors would be the legacy wall near the Leyden Art mural. This will not include a teacher to direct them. This means a senior involved in an art class will have to step up to create this wall. They would have to decide what the painting will include, such as e like a handprint or a personalized butterfly with the senior’s full formal name. They would also have to get all of the seniors in the art department together to create the final piece. 

With all of these new projects, the art department still plans to create more. Reed stated, “We are considering having the painting class add murals each semester.” This would be a slow process since it does take much time and effort to create a mural; however, they hope to get other departments involved with ideas to “help brighten up their spaces.”

The mural and legacy walls are simply next in what has been a growing presence of Leyden’s Art throughout Leyden. Students pass multiple displays on their way to class each morning. One example could be the “Leyden Art” mural in the basement near the photography and painting rooms, which shows a variety of colors including a paintbrush with a smiling face to really enhance Leyden’s art pride. Students are also featured via photographic prints on the second floor. For photography, teachers allow students to submit as many photos they would like, and the school board discusses which art they would like to “buyback.”