UW-Parkside Students’ Work Featured on Wall Poems Murals in Racine

Kenosha, Wis.- The University of Wisconsin-Parkside and ArtRoot will unveil the design work of two UW-Parkside students on Sept. 17 in Racine. A brief history of the project and future projects will be shared, and the featured poets will recite their poems.

ArtRoot’s Wall Poems of Racine #5 unveiling party is set for Sunday, Sept. 17, 2023, from 2 to 2:30 p.m. at 1111 Washington Ave. Racine, WI 53403. Street parking will be available. ArtRoot’s Wall Poems of Racine #6 unveiling party is set to immediately follow the unveiling of #5 on Sunday, Sept. 17, from 2:30 to 3 p.m. at 3801 Blue River Avenue Racine, WI 53405. Street parking and parking lot spaces are available.

Wall Poems of Racine #5 features an excerpt from Marcie Eanes’s poem, Sing. UW-Parkside student David Davison created the design. Building elevation drawings were provided by Bob Yuhas of RPY Architecture. Building owner Natasha Evans offered the building to be painted.

Wall Poems of Racine #6 features an excerpt from Linda Flashinski’s poem, The Arts. UW-Parkside student Andrea Mickelson created the design. Both murals were painted by Dean Tawwater of Tawwater Sign Company. Building owners Ed and Sharon Trudeau offered their building to be painted.

Wall Poems of Racine is an ArtRoot project in collaboration with UW-Parkside and other community partners. The project celebrates local literary talent by pairing an excerpt from a poem written by a Racine poet with a design created by a student from an advanced graphic design class at UW-Parkside. The wall poems program is supported by a grant from the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional funding was received from the Osborne and Scekic Family Foundation.

Each year, a poetry selection committee made up of local writers selects several poetry excerpts from Racine poets and provides them to graphic design students in a community-based learning course at UW-Parkside. Each student chooses an excerpt to incorporate into a design. Students present their initial designs to a design review committee that includes the poet, building owner, and other community representatives, and the committee provides feedback to the students. Students modify their designs based on the feedback and present them a second time to the committee. The committee selects one or two final designs based on the number of walls available that year.

Building owners with a wall in good condition and are interested in having a wall poem painted on their building, please email ArtRootRacine@gmail.com. To learn more about this project and to see step-by-step photos for each wall poem, please visit artroot.org/wallpoems.

The University of Wisconsin-Parkside is committed to high-quality educational programs, creative and scholarly activities, and services responsive to its diverse student population, and its local, national, and global communities. We are a dynamic learning community grounded in academic excellence and focused on student success, diversity, inclusion, and community engagement. The campus serves as a premier comprehensive public institution and a destination of choice, serving as a focal point of local, regional, and global progress.

Media contact:

Derek Fye
Communications Manager
University of Wisconsin-Parkside
Fye@uwp.edu | (262) 771-5419