Last week, forty-one students from the Indiana Area Junior High SmART Club collaborated with one another and New York artist Ramiro Davaro-Comas to create a “Super Story” to be depicted on a mural in their school cafeteria.
They had been tasked with changing the visual culture of the space, and they selected three core values that were developed by their school and used them to design icons that represent positivity, kindness, and teamwork. Students worked through the mural process by assisting Ramiro with painting and installing the mural.
Davaro-Comas is an Argentine/American artist with a background in public art and a passion for painting, storytelling and community work. He is a co-director of the Super-Stories project, which focuses on education and large scale mural projects with students at the center of everything. Their motto is: “If you know something, teach it!”
Locally, the project was sponsored by art teachers Molly Weber and Emily Haugh and supported through EITC funding provided by S&T Bank and First Commonwealth Bank. Said Haugh: “This was a valuable opportunity for students to work with a professional artist. Students gained a deeper understanding into the work that comes along with public displays as well as the artistic process and gained experience in the current art trend of Street Art and collaboration.”