Supplied: Clarissa Mapp

By Abby Zieverink

Community

Grande Prairie Comp students adding personal touches to school walls

Jan 11, 2022 | 1:39 PM

With Grande Prairie Composite High School closing at the end of the school year, students are adding their own personal touches to the walls before the school closes its doors.

Students have been invited to paint murals on the hallway walls inside the school, allowing those interested to leave one last mark at the Comp before it closes its doors in June.

The idea for the murals came from teacher Clarissa Mapp. She explains she wanted to give her students a chance to work on a unique project most artists don’t get the opportunity to do.

“(When I’m) travelling, I always like to look at murals and stuff of different places, it really kind of gives a flavour to those cities, and a lot of artists do not get that opportunity until later in life. I thought it would be cool for them (the students) to get that chance,” she explained.

After pitching the idea to her Art 10 students, Mapp says most were eager to get the ball rolling. She adds once they got permission to work on the project from the school’s Principal, her Art 10 students were able to start sketching and planning their murals.

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“I started by introducing it to my Art 10 students, which then it broadened to any student who has an interest (and) who has an idea,” she said.

In order to paint a mural, students must present a sketch of what their mural will look like and have it approved by the school staff.

“We made sure we signed off on the sketches so it wasn’t just random stuff going up or inappropriate stuff,” Mapp mentioned.

Mapp adds the in-school murals have been well received by many and is something they are hoping to bring over to the new Composite High School.

She tells EverythingGP they have already toured the new school and are looking at options for these student-painted murals to go on the walls inside the stairwells.

“The stairwells are kind of blank and grey with not much light, so we were thinking about removable panels in there where students could actually take the panel, work on it in the art room maybe it would be by grade level or each graduating year and then it could be kind of switched out.”

(Supplied: Clarissa Mapp)

(Supplied: Clarissa Mapp)

(Supplied: Clarissa Mapp)

(Supplied: Clarissa Mapp)