Everyone in the campus community is welcome to contribute ideas to support the digital artwork’s concept and design. 

A mural at La Salle University is in the works—and it’s a project that will take the collective experiences, ideas, and participation of the campus community to bring it together. 

The University has received a Faithfully Forward Initiative grant from the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities (ACCU) and Interfaith America to conceptualize, create, and deliver a digital mural at La Salle no later than Fall 2023. The $5,000 grant will finance all components associated with the mural—from the commission of a digital artist to the requisite tools and technology for creating and displaying it. 

When completed, the digital mural will capture the various and diverse identities that are present on La Salle’s campus, through the lens of faith, said Vice President of Mission, Diversity, and Inclusion Alisa Macksey. The choice to produce a digital mural will allow the University to display it in multiple locations on campus and at specific events and gatherings, while also adapting and adding to it over time, Macksey added. 

“Think of a digital mural as a moving piece of public art, one that can be projected onto walls, windows, or sidewalks in a number of venues across campus,” Macksey said. “This approach is an open-ended form of artistic design, too, allowing us to update the mural to best represent a community of educators, learners, and Lasallians that is constantly evolving.” 

Philadelphia is internationally renowned for its works of public art. Widely regarded as the City of Murals, Philadelphia is home to more than 4,000 murals and other pieces of community-based art that are on public display. Often, they are developed by the residents of neighborhoods where they exist, with community members contributing at every phase of a mural’s development. 

That same approach is being adopted at La Salle. Listening sessions with students in December and with faculty and staff in the early spring semester will help the University collect ideas on how the La Salle community can contribute their identities to the mural, Macksey said. 

La Salle has commissioned Philadelphia-based designer, painter, and muralist Becky McIntyre to create the digital mural, working collaboratively with undergraduate student Grace McKenna, ’24, a digital arts major who is studying design and applied arts. 

“We are entering this process open-minded to the many faiths and backgrounds that are present in our unique Lasallian Catholic community,” Macksey said. “This will be a cohesive project and we need everyone to come forward with their ideas. We want to share the thoughts, words, and visual representations that contribute to our vision of personal and faith identity.” 

—Christopher A. Vito