Renfrew Collegiate Institute Grade 12 art student Alexandra Wright, left, says the idea for her War Hero Mural came to her on a school trip to Europe in 2020. She is joined by Savannah Church, who also worked on the project. (RCI photo)
Grade 12 Renfrew Collegiate Institute student Alexandra Wright was standing in the Jardin des Canadiens at the Abbaye d’Ardenne in Normandy when the idea for her latest art project was born.
And now, the four-by-eight-foot RCI War Hero Mural is about to be hung in the school hallway – a tribute to RCI students and teachers who died in the world wars.
Alexandra was on a school trip to Europe in March 2020 when she first thought of the idea. On that trip, students visited a number of war memorials and cemeteries in France and Italy.
Art teacher Natalie Stevens, who oversaw the project, said the grade 12 art course has students create an independently directed piece for their final project, so Alex used the opportunity to create the mural. The vision and concept of the mural was entirely Alex’s, said Stevens, and it was executed with the help of Grade 11 student Savannah Church, and Grade 12 students Eady Horvath and Brooklyn Holley.
It was mid-November 2023 when the actual physical work on the mural began. Before that, Alex spent time researching and logging names and information.
She said while working on the project she learned about those who went to war, and their families, much of it sad and hard to read.
The mural will be on display in the corridor going to the office in the main lobby area of the school
Reaction to the project has been exceedingly positive.
She’s pleased with the outcome and said completing the mural felt like a full-circle moment.
(Written by Sherry Haaima)
