Will you design USN’s next mural?

Bringing his eighth-grade change project to life, Henry ’23 is leading the creative project to paint the brick wall facing the outdoor basketball court and backfield.
By Juanita I.C. Traughber, Communications Director
 
Henry Stack ’23 is leading a change at University School of Nashville.
 
For his eighth-grade change project, which challenges students to improve something around campus or inform people at school about an issue, Henry proposed the exterior wall facing the backfield. Now a High School freshman, he is bringing his dream to life.
 
The mural will be designed through a contest open to all K-12 students, parents, alumni, faculty, and staff.  Using the prompt “entrances & exits” or “along the way,” submissions must include a mural sketch and 250-word description about the design and its inspiration. The design may not include logos and must be original to the artist. Entry forms are available in the Edgehill lobby and once completed should be left in the submission box there. The deadline is Friday, March 13. A group of faculty and students will select the design they feel best reflects the themed, and the mural will be painted Friday, May 22. The wall, which hides mechanical units and stairs from the Auditorium backstage, was built during USN's centennial construction. 
 
USN has several murals on campus painted by students, alumni, and Nashville artists.
 
In the 1980s, Nashville artist Myles Maillie painted a staircase that led to the photography lab and art classes. Since the Tibbot Center addition, the stairwell now connects the first and second floors of the Middle School Maillie returned in 2017 to expand it with High School art students. The mural of whimsical, colorful faces has become a USN icon. It has been used on T-shirts, and Mclaine Richardson '04 created a limited edition jewelry collection inspired by the mural to benefit USN's Artclectic Endowment Fund for Innovative Teaching in 2016.
 
The Class of 2025 and Middle School Art Teacher Joseph “doughjoe” Love III painted a mural connecting USN with the city’s prominent African-American communities in the 21st Avenue garage in 2018. Their project was the culmination of Fifth Grade Social Studies Teacher Connie Fink’s civil rights unit, which takes students out of the classroom and into Nashville neighborhoods to learn about their historic struggles. Using sketches from then-fifth graders, doughjoe — also a muralist with the Norf Art Collective — pieced together a cohesive mural. High School students in Art Teacher Emily Holt’s Contemporary Practice class painted the base layers, and some fifth graders stayed after school to paint wooden pieces affixed to the mural. Each fifth grader also had the opportunity to paint a flower on the soccer field.
 
Nashville artist Adrien Saporiti '06 also painted "High Fidelity," a mural of geometric shapes in a stairwell as a parting gift from the Class of 2017. The design has been used on tote bags.
Back

More USN News

List of 3 news stories.

  • Alumni Beyond Edgehill: Barry Wilker '71

    In this feature, we check in with PDS/USN alumni from all over the world to take a look at all that life beyond Edgehill can entail. Learn about alum and artist Barry Wilker '71 and be sure to visit his “Handle with Color” exhibit in the Tibbott Center Gallery until Friday, April 19. 
    Read More
  • Project VOICE's two-day visit was supported by funds from the Fall Book Frenzy

    Author in Residence program brings spoken word poetry to LS, MS

    On Thursday, March 21 and Friday, March 22, two poets from Project VOICE, a nationally-renowned organization that seeks to educate, entertain, and inspire students with spoken-word poetry, visited USN as part of our annual Author in Residence program.
    Read More
  • The Quiz Bowl has now won back-to-back state championships

    HS Quiz Bowl earns state championship

    Congratulations to Coach Eric Mukherjee, Jackson Green '26, Penelope Graham '25, Daniel Guo '25, and Rohan Ramachandran '25 for their performance at this year's Quiz Bowl State Tournament.
    Read More
Archive
USN Mission: 
University School of Nashville models the best educational practices. In an environment that represents the cultural and ethnic composition of Metropolitan Nashville, USN fosters each student’s intellectual, artistic, and athletic potential, valuing and inspiring integrity, creative expression, a love of learning, and the pursuit of excellence.