Starting on May 6th of this year Snider Plaza began massive renovations, which have been making much progress, and are projected to end by fall of 2025. In order to add a pop of color and excitement to the area in the meantime, murals are going to be painted on the active construction.
For over a year the renovations have been in progress, and such a long time in visual modification is what sparked the idea for the UP board.
“They suggested maybe getting like a mural or an Instagram type, just something to take photos with similar to what they have in the shops at Park Lane,” Rudey said.
Because of the ideas of murals, the board proposed the idea of having local students produce them.
“Our thought was, if we’re going to do that [murals], why not tap in to our local students since the students at HPISD and the high school are so creative,” head of the Snider Plaza construction project Paige Ruedy said. “So why not ask them if they would be interested in maybe doing the murals?”
The Murals are planned to be added to the fences surrounding the renovations, rather than the renovations and walls themselves.
“The idea also for this was to have them implemented at different times throughout the years” Ruedy said.
The renovations are split into different stages, with recent years’ utility and sanitation facility renovations being stage one. The murals were intended to reflect the stages as they were actualized.
Unlike the utilities’ improvements, stage two of the Snider Plaza renovations is focusing more on aesthetic improvements. The renovations will include replacing sidewalks, pavement, streets, as well as more visual improvements like landscaping and lighting.
Members of the University Park committee reached out to HP art teachers to get students to participate in the completion of the Snider Plaza renovations.
“I was very excited to be able to provide my students with such an opportunity,” Highland Park High School art teacher Jenai Talkington said.
While the concepts are reported to be much in development, many students are said to be enticed by the opportunity. Students are currently forming their designs for the murals and creating their rough drafts.
“They wouldn’t be up permanently. It would be one for the fall and then maybe one around Christmas time and then switching them out through the season… but also they would just paint over it whenever there was time to make a new one,” Ruedy stated.
Because of this seasonal nature, students were invited this fall to work on ideas for the murals.
“For example, the one the students were working on a little while ago was one depicting fall weather and the things that go with it like school starting and football season,” Talkington said.
Another inviting part of this program is that the art supplies used will be paid for and provided by the University Park committee. Despite this, not all students are participating.
“If we wanted to work on the murals, our teacher told us to start working on ideas… not everyone submitted one,” freshman Sofia Quiroz said.
These murals will provide not only a service to the students through their art, but also for the people who live here and pass by Snider Plaza daily. With the other programs the city will be implementing into Snider Plaza accompanying the renovations, the murals will help to improve the livelihoods of the citizens of University Park.
“I think that these murals are a great way to get students active in the community. It is going to provide these students not only a great chance to exercise their creativity, but also to make an impact on the city they live in,” Talkington said.
