ALLENTOWN, Pa. — A collective of young Lehigh Valley artists on Friday got an opportunity to take part in a community mural project at Lehigh Valley International Airport.
ArtsQuest’s Arts in Education partnership, through the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, joined forces with the airport as part of the PCA Artist Residency program.
Teaching artists and muralist Matt Halm directed students from a one-week “Public Art Intensive” session held at the Banana Factory summer camp program.
- A group of students in the one-week "Public Art Intensive" session at the Banana Factory summer camp program got the opportunity to paint a mural at Lehigh Valley International Airport on Friday
- Muralist and teaching artist Matt Halm directed the activity, which promotes an appreciation of public art and helps students cultivate their skills
- The mural is scheduled for completion in September, when ABE employees will put the finishing touches on the piece before its grand reveal
The culmination of the program came about Friday, with Halm and his students taking a few hours to paint a mural in the pedestrian tunnel entrance of the airport.
Lisa Harms, ArtsQuest's senior director of visual arts and education, said the program worked with Halm and his staff over the past couple months at ABE to create the design of the mural, which "anyone traveling in and out of the airport is going to be able to see.”
“It was really important that it represented different aspects and elements of the Lehigh Valley."Lisa Harms, ArtsQuest's senior director of visual arts and education
“It was really important that it represented different aspects and elements of the Lehigh Valley," Harms said.
'Pass that knowledge along'
Harms said that through the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts funding, "we've been able to do this very special week-long intensive, where students have been working with Matt at the Banana Factory, learning all the ins and outs of public art.
"And it culminates with this great paint day that all families and campers have been invited to, so they actually get to get their hands on and actually get to have a piece of the painting done themselves.”
"It's my pleasure to kind of pass that knowledge along."Muralist Matt Halm
Halm, who has worked as a muralist for more than 10 years and has taught for the past few years, said the project was a great way to combine his passions and pass on that knowledge and love to the next generation.
“It's amazing," he said. "I started out as an assistant that didn't know anything about murals. I worked under other artists that helped me learn the trade and learn how to do it.
“And so it's my pleasure to kind of pass that knowledge along. To have kids be a part of public art project, like this is just a great way for them to be creative, but also to see their efforts in a grand scale like this, that's going to be here for a long time.”
Halm instructed his students throughout the previous week to build a foundation of skills at the camp before setting them loose on the tunnel.
With a base of labeled blocks laid out across the wall of the tunnel, the budding artists could easily tackle small tasks which slowly build into a grand work.
Helping grow an appreciation
Beyond those skills, Halm said he hopes the children will grow an appreciation of public art and recognize its value to the individual and the community.
“The main thing is just to know about public art as a as a way to communicate, as a way to be involved in your community, as a way to be positive and get positive messages across, that’s the main thing. And you know, if there's some paint painting skills they learned or some image transferring skills – using a grid is something we learned about –that's awesome."Muralist and teaching artist Matt Halm
“The main thing is just to know about public art as a way to communicate, as a way to be involved in your community, as a way to be positive and get positive messages across, that’s the main thing," he said.
"And, you know, if there's some painting skills they learned or some image transferring skills — using a grid is something we learned about — that's awesome,” Halm said.
Helping grow an appreciation
Students worked diligently and with an excitable passion on the mural on Friday, taking pride in exercising the talents they have accrued since they started the summer program.
Amaya Hendrix, 11, of Allentown was on the scene at the airport Friday morning with her mother, Donna, enjoying her time contributing to the sizable project.
"I'm really proud of what I've done already so far, and what my friends are doing.”Student Amaya Hendrix, 11
“I do like to draw, so I figured that maybe instead of just drawing, I should try something new and try to take a stab at this mural," Amaya said.
"I really wanted to try because I thought it would be fun. I have relatives over in a different country, and I thought if they came over, they would be able to see I painted that.
"I thought it would be really fun, and it really is. My teacher is amazing. He's really funny. And even when I'm a little bit shy, he still trusts me."
The airport also plans to hold a one-day event for employees to participate in painting the mural alongside Halm. A special public presentation will take place in September, where VIPs will put the final "brushstrokes" on the mural.
But at the heart of it all, getting the chance to learn new skills and advance art education for the kids is the project's keys — one that students, teachers, family members and the community as a whole appreciate greatly.
“I'm really excited to be doing this," Amaya said. "I feel like it's a really unique opportunity. I'm really proud of what I've done already so far, and what my friends are doing.”
