By Bri Spencer / The Jambar
A new panorama mural representing Kilcawley Center’s legacy will be painted on the campus side of the building during April 7-11.
The sketch of the mural was created April 2, with the painting spanning two walls at around 50 feet. Students Lauren Barrett and Emma Strope-Downs were chosen to design and lead the mural’s execution.
Barrett, junior interdisciplinary studio art major, was designated as lead designer of the mural and created the line work and final proposal. She processed revisions to the sketch on her iPad.
Strope-Downs, senior interdisciplinary studio art major, helped design the mural, mainly contributing during the sketching and planning phase.
YSU professor of art Dragana Crnjak worked closely with students on the design side of the mural and gave strong direction and artistic guidance with the project. She overviewed their work, communicated and scheduled information and assisted with its design.
Kathy Leeper, associate director in marketing and programming at Kilcawley, was the primary person Barret and Strope-Downs spoke with in regards to the mural.
Those involved wanted the mural to represent the legacy Kilcawley has left on the university. Strope-Downs found that the center represented the community and used that to inspire the mural’s depictions.
Barrett said the mural is open for everyone to paint to give the event a sense of community.
“It’s the hub of campus. We didn’t feel it was right to just have [the mural] go up,” Barrett said. “It’s a community-driven building, it should have a community-driven process.”
Strope-Downs, Barrett and Crnjak met with various people who felt personally connected to Kilcawley, including alumni, faculty and current students. Through these interactions they found the material they wanted to include to encapsulate over 50 years of history that Kilcawley has offered.
Strope-downs said the mural will depict various restaurants, clubs, services and student activities housed in the center.
“To represent both past and current YSU life, we brought in various notable items from over the years and used silhouettes and penguins to represent all of us,” Strope-Downs said.
The mural itself depicts a timeline where the left half of the mural is 1974 — when the center opened — and the right half represents this year. Barrett explained that the 2025 side isn’t meant to be melancholy because of the original Kilcawley’s end, but joyful for a new beginning.
“It is a beautiful send-off into the future. It’s a good farewell, but it’s also this bright look towards the future,” Barrett said.
Kilcawley Center will close May 5 for a two-year renovation. Barrett said the mural’s wall is one of the first to go. She also said several people hope to take bricks home to have a piece of the original Kilcawley Center.
