RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. — A new "time capsule" mural was installed at Arkansas Tech University (ATU) as part of an ongoing collaboration between the university and the Windgate Foundation.
The mural was created by Haylee Bolinger, who served as Windgate Foundation Artist in Residence at ATU during the spring 2023 semester.
Individuals from the ATU community and beyond were invited to submit a photo of an object that holds personal value to them along with a story or memory about the object to be a part of the mural.
Those items were used as inspiration to, as Bolinger described, "create a mural that is a vivid, dream-like snapshot of the things that bring us joy in 2023."
The installation can be viewed on the south side of Norman Hall located at 203 West Q Street on the ATU campus in Russellville.
“It was really exciting to get to know the Russellville community,” said Bolinger. “I did a lot of downtown walking, I met the business owners and I taught a class here on campus. I was able to get a picture of what people value and something personal that was happening in their life at this moment in time. Transformation is the best description of the theme of the piece. There’s this great mixture of where we’re coming from and where we’re going. I hope the magic and excitement of that is captured in this piece. It’s been nice to build community with people I didn’t know before I came here.”
Bolinger holds a Master of Fine Arts degree in sculpture from Arizona State University and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in studio art from the University of Wyoming.
In 2015, she co-founded and has since directed the Carlos Queso Gallery in the Los Angeles, CA, neighborhood of Echo Park, which focuses on providing emerging artists with a space to exhibit their work.
Bolinger is the fifth artist in residence in ATU history. She was preceded by Manami Ishimura (spring 2019), Tiffany Black (spring 2020), Jade Hoyer (fall 2021), and Andrew Malczewski (spring 2022).
ATU time capsule mural
