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University of Michigan students paint massive mural on Ann Arbor campus to honor class of 2021

The University of Michigan commencement mural honors the U-M Class of 2021 and was painted by 29 undergraduate students from the U-M Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design. It is located on the street outside of the Rackham Graduate School (915 E. Washington Street), between Thayer and Fletcher Streets. (Scott C. Soderberg, Copyright 2021 Michigan Photography)

ANN ARBOR – Undergraduate students from University of Michigan’s Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design spent nearly five hours on Sunday creating a chalk paint mural outside the Rackham Graduate School to honor the class of 2021.

Located at 915 E. Washington St., the mural is a part of the university’s commencement celebrations and will be on view until May 2.

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The massive 18 x 400 foot mural reads “Go Blue Class of 2021″ and features “flying” graduation caps.

U-M graduation mural on Washington St. between Fletcher and Thayer streets. (Copyright 2021 Michigan Photography)

Stamps alumnae Liz Guilmet and Yen Azzaro led the project along with the Office of University Development Events and the Office of the President.

An artist and illustrator, Azzaro said students worked on all aspects of the mural, from the design to the installation. Split up into a grid, the sections were led by different students who oversaw team communications, materials and painting.

“Collaborating on this mural has been a testament to the talent and ingenuity of the students at Stamps,” Azzaro said in a statement. “Even during crunch time with finals nearing, students really stepped up to be team leads and offer a variety of concept possibilities.”

Undergraduate students paint a street mural in honor of the class of 2021 at the University of Michigan on April 25, 2021. (Copyright 2021 Michigan Photography)

“This has been such a great project to work on with students during this time,” Guilmet, who is also a faculty member at Stamps, said in a statement. “It was a way for them to come together, to collaborate and to celebrate safely after getting through this difficult year.”

Students involved in the project include: Abigail Rankin, Alyssa Wilcome, Ashlee Freeman, Brianna Manzor, Coco DelVecchio, Emily Holtz, Erin Walski, Huanyuan Li, Isabella Kehoe, Jaymes Walker, Kyra Koprowski, Lee Hubbel, Madisyn Hicks, Michelle Ha, Natalie Guisinger, Nicole White, Riley Parrish, Saima Siddiqui, Samuel Turner, Sarah Dettling, Shivalika Kohli, Sophia Schwartz, Stephanie Li, Valerie Le, Violet Flores, Victor Garcia, XiaoYu Che, Yasmine Elhagehassan and Younji (Jinny) Jin.

A student paints a section of an outdoor mural outside the Rackham Graduate School honoring the U-M Class of 2021 on April 25, 2021. (Copyright 2021 Michigan Photography)

The university asked that visitors to the outdoor mural wear face coverings and follow social distancing guidelines.


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