Murals in Shea Center Practice Rooms Rendered by WP Art Students Enhance Music Student Experience

William Paterson music students, who typically spend many solitary hours rehearsing in Shea Center’s practice rooms, now have colorful new murals to inspire them while working on their craft.

The murals, depicting a range of musical themes and genres, now grace seven music practice rooms in the Music Department on the lower level of Shea Center, all painted by undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in the University’s summer course in Mural Painting.

This is the second year that students enrolled in the course, taught by Professor Eileen Foti, coordinator of the Art Department’s foundations program, have collaborated with the Music Department to enhance the walls of the practice rooms. The initiative was designed to make the practice rooms “feel more like artistic spaces,” says Payton MacDonald, interim associate dean of the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences and former chair of the Music Department. “The reception has been outstanding. The music students, faculty, and staff love it.”

“Since the Music Department is so diverse, including the curriculum, the genres, and the students, we came up with the theme of world music, and asked each student to explore their own thoughts and relationship to music,” says Foti.

Each student was required to provide a specific proposal, including a written statement and a sketch, about their theme, which they presented to MacDonald for approval. “It was very inspiring to see how much thought they each put into their work,” he says.

Students focused on a wide variety of genres—disco, hip hop, jazz, rock and roll, country music, pop music—as well as music of different cultures, from Ireland and Puerto Rico and more. For example, Christian Montanez’s mural focuses on the popular artist Bad Bunny, representing his Puerto Rican and Dominican culture. “I want people to feel empowered…and worth more than you think,” he says. “I wanted to share that message.”

Mileny Jiatz’s mural features the famed Blue Note jazz club, where she saw a performance. “It was a memorable night for me,” she says. “I wanted music students to see themselves as artists who might be playing at the Blue Note in the future.”

For Foti, the response from the music students has been the most gratifying part. “I’ve had many students stop me and say, ‘I can’t believe how inspiring it is to sit in this room and play and look at all this wonderful stuff.’ We couldn’t be happier about that.”