Bryant teacher raising funds to turn wall outside of school into work of art
A Bryant Alternative High School art teacher is looking for the public’s help for an ambitious project to transform a large concrete wall outside the school into a work of art.
Rachel Kreiger Albert has started a GoFundMe page to help cover the costs of hiring a professional artist to oversee the building of a mosaic mural on the 35-foot by 13-foot retaining wall near the front of the school.
Albert, who has taught the at Bryant for 11 years, got the idea after driving by the wall day after day as she went to work. Occasionally it had been tagged with graffiti, Kreiger said, and “seems sort of like an attractor for bad behavior.” She thinks it has the potential to be so much more, not just for Bryant students and faculty, but also for the school’s neighbors.
“This wall is not just for the Bryant Alternative [High School] population, it is part of the community,” Albert wrote on her GoFundMe page. “It is the first thing young faces and families see at the [United Community Ministries] Early Learning Center. It faces the St. Louis School Playground and it is clearly visible to all who drive by. This year, we want to give it a new life and new energy.”
Albert is partnering with Ali Mirsky, a professional mosaic artist who had done other projects with Fairfax County schools. A mosaic mural uses ceramics and glass, as opposed to paint. That will give the completed project more durability than a traditional painted mural, which can chip and peel over time.
Albert secured Principal Tangy Millard’s blessing for the project, and credited the second-year principal with bringing “a new energy” to the school that encourages such efforts.
“The principal is totally supportive of it,” Albert said.
Bryant holds a special place in hearts of many in the Route 1 area. It was the original home of Groveton High School, which used the building from 1956 until 1975. After that it was an intermediate school for a number of years before becoming a “non-traditional” high school for students from around the county.
Because Bryant pulls its population from all over, most of its students don’t have ties to the Richmond Highway area. Albert said many students don’t feel ownership of the school or ties to the community. She hopes by getting students to participate in the construction of the mural, they can be part of something that bonds them to Bryant.
“I think it’s going to give them something to be proud of,” Albert said. “I think that will give them that kind of pride and ownership of the high school.”
In addition to the GoFundMe campaign, Albert has distributed flyers in the neighborhood to spread word of the project. Donors who contribute $100 or more will get their name personalized on a tile of the mosaic.
So far the GoFundMe page has raised more than $1,500 or its $8,000 goal. She says once she gets about halfway to the goal, she will be able to get started and hopefully inspire more contributions.
“It think [the mural] will really just change the perception of the school from the outside,” Albert said.
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