Homecoming Mural Reception

Join us in the OASIS Space of the Holmes Student Center following the Homecoming Kick-off to learn more about a new Homecoming-inspired mural being painted on campus and how you can get involved in completing the mural. The mural's theme draws on NIU's Recycled Boat Race, a long-standing and revitalized Homecoming tradition. The boat race encourages teams to build boats from recycled materials and race them across the campus lagoon. The mural has been designed so that all Huskies, regardless of artistic ability, will have the opportunity to participate in its creation by painting 12 inch by 12 inch sections. Two artists, one alum and one current School of Art student, have collaborated on the design. Ryan Travis Christian, a 2007 NIU alumnus, has experience making high-visibility murals in Chicago; his signature style, dense, black-and-white graphite drawings and paintings built from geometric patterns, optical illusions, and fractured space, collides cartoon aesthetics and surreal imagery, drawing on vintage animation and the pattern-heavy visual culture of his 1980s childhood, and he cites the Chicago Imagist movement as a direct influence. Drew Dzurko is a 2023 NIU BFA graduate completing his MFA, known for photographic work exploring instability, transformation, and the tension between collapse and renewal, and a co-founder of Lumen Photography Studios.Thae painting of the mural will begin during Homecoming Week and will continue throughout the semester. Current Painting times are: Monday, Oct. 5 from 12:30 to 4 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 6 from 1 to 4 p.m. Ling-Yu Chou, Visiting Assistant Professor of Visual Arts Education, and the NAEA Art Education students will be present to assist with painting. Wednesday, Oct. 7 from noon to 4 p.m.