ISSUED: 10 December 2025
MEDIA CONTACT: Hans Fogle
SHEPHERDSTOWN, WV — Students in Shepherd University’s public arts/mural painting class have transformed a concrete wall in the University’s Arts Center Complex with a new mural titled “Dream Big.” The recently completed mural was created under the guidance of Department of Contemporary Art & Theater faculty and celebrates creativity, imagination, and the transformative power of the arts.
The class set out with a goal to create an inspiring visual that reflects the energy of the Arts Center. The resulting mural brings new vibrancy to the space where students learn, collaborate, and create.
Guided by the “Dream Big” theme, students developed a concept that blends symbolic imagery with the building’s existing architectural features.
The artists created a patina-like surface to echo what artists do—build history, layer elements, and create stories. This texture complements the natural patina found throughout the Arts Center, including its concrete floors and the marks from paint, wax, and drawing materials. Students also recreated the distinctive green staining left on the building’s concrete walls by its copper.
An abstract aurora creates the mural’s background, representing expansive thinking and the wonder of the natural world. Birds in flight symbolize growth, mirroring students’ journeys through their education.
Overhead fixtures cast shifting shadows across the artwork throughout the day, while a nearby sculpture-casting furnace adds a sculptural element in the foreground. Light from the large glass garage doors reflects the mural’s colors back onto the building.
To learn more about Shepherd University’s Department of Contemporary Art, Communication, and Theater, visit https://www.shepherd.edu/cact.
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