Overview

Since antiquity, walls have been sites for decoration, for mobilizing political action, and for coalescing community. More recently, murals (and other forms of public art) have become integral to the urban process of gentrification in major cities, offering pleasant decorative filler in spaces that were formerly seen as ‘abandoned.’ How do these sites animate local histories, erase or create collective memory, and ignite change? Further, how can current mural campaigns engage with the rich history of representation and dissent that is intrinsic to the medium itself? During the spring of 2020, students and faculty at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH partnered with the urban planning and public art non-profit LAND Studio to pursue these questions. Working collaboratively, we generated a strategic plan for the Inter|Urban mural project—an initiative that pairs recipients of the esteemed Anisfield-Wolf book award with internationally recognized artists to produce murals that engage issues of social justice and racial equity. The project began as an art history course and has since transformed into a longer-term project.  Weaving together history, theory, and practice, Painting on Walls asks us to consider what art history (and the Humanities writ large) can do for society.

Read more

Erin Benay, “From Campus to Community: Art History as Urban Practice,” Journal of Urban Cultural Studies 8 (2021): 109-119.

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Image: Cover, Painting on Walls strategic plan for the Inter|Urban mural project, written, edited, designed, and published by undergraduate and graduate students in Erin Benay’s course, Spring, 2020.