Student Diversity Murals Installed! Why not take a peek?

With The Ohio State University celebrating its 150th anniversary, the university community has the opportunity to reflect on accomplishments, traditions, and challenges. As a response to Ohio State’s journey and current environment, the Neighborhood Design Center and OSU Nonprofit Immersion Program commissioned a student-generated public art installation to communicate the student experience of diversity and inclusion on campus.

The Nonprofit Immersion Program is a cohort of students who are paired with nonprofit organizations in Columbus. Students serve as non-voting members of the organizations’ boards for one year, where they learn about, and get hands-on experience in the inner workings of a nonprofit.

The goal of the project is to facilitate a conversation among students, campus leaders, OSU staff, and area residents about Ohio State’s perception and execution of inclusion.

Ultimately, the insights drawn from student-led discussions, a representative art selection panel, and the final works will all serve as a catalyst to a bigger conversation; that each and every voice has the right to be heard, frame the term “inclusion,” from their world view, and to open meaningful conversations with a broader group. The artwork will also add aesthetic value and provide a gathering space for current and prospective students, staff, and visitors to the beautiful campus area.

THE MURALISTS

Mia Miller, 2nd Year, International Studies with a minor in Chinese and Business

This piece came together bit by bit, starting as a way to practice drawing faces and becoming what you see today. All six people in it are my former classmates and friends, who were kind enough to volunteer to help me out. Along the way, it became more than practice, it became a piece about perspective and equity. Mia Miller

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Arvcúken Noquisi, 2nd Year, Moving Image Production & Sonic Arts

Arvcúken ᏧᎸᏌᏓ ᏃᏈᏏ cvhocefkv tos. The Ohio State University sits on land taken from the Shawnee, Lenape, Miami, Wyandotte, Potawatomi, Peoria, Ojibwe, Seneca, and Cherokee peoples – all removed from Ohio by the Indian Removal Act of 1830. This is Native Land. Arvcúken Noquisi

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Anne Knellinger, 3rd Year, Visual Communication Design

Storytelling has long been part of human nature, something that has been passed down through the generations. It is something that brings us together, a way to create a shared history, an opportunity to become vulnerable. To create this work, several students from The Ohio State University opened up their hearts to share their own stories about their families, hopes, dreams, and struggles, allowing us to take a closer look into the diverse stories of our community. Buildings from Ohio State’s campus with roots in diversity and inclusion accompany these portraits, further highlighting the rich stories in our Columbus community. Anne Knellinger

PANELISTS

Adam Hernandez Local Muralist/Artist

Alyssa Johnson Service and Outreach Coordinator The Ohio State University

Cheryl Lyons Director; Student Life Disability Services The Ohio State University

Lei Guo Director, Diversity & Inclusion Committee USG The Ohio State University

Lawrence Williamson Office of Diversity and Inclusion The Ohio State University

Matt Hansen University District Organization

Susan Melsop Department of Design