Bay View Mural Brings a Message

Bay View’s ArtStop—a bus stop that features a large, steel tower and which has been panned by many — has just gotten a new installation. This time it didn’t cost as much as the first, and had well more than one artist working on it. In fact, the junior Bay View High School students all helped to construct and install a mural of vinyl stickers to cover the brown electrical boxes at the ArtStop.

This is one of the projects that the Kinnickinnic Business Improvement District has been working on with these students. The students researched famous Bay View residents, went through 100-year-old photos of Kinnickinnic Avenue, and turned the stickers into thought-provoking pieces using these pictures. Lead by teacher and artist Steve Vande Zande, the students placed their vibrant stickers onto the electrical boxes as a way to showcase the positivity of Bay View.

Another student project, also part of the goal to showcase Bay View’s strengths, was a mural painted in the alley behind the Avalon Theater on Kinnickinnic Avenue. The mural reads “Love Where You Live” in red, white and black paint and is adorned with hearts and handprints. This project was led by history teacher Cassie Mentzer and Serve2Unite co-founder, Pardeep Kaleka as well as Odd Duck restaurant and the non-profit Kompost Kids Inc.. The project aimed to teach students skills that might them continue to rehabilitate and nourish their own neighborhoods and communities. Students also learned about healthy eating, composting and urban farming.

The mural—covering the movie theater’s entire alley wall—is also being done to deter any future graffiti. Long term, the project’s leaders and students all hope the message to “Love Where You Live” will add to the positive vibrations in one of the city’s most rapidly redeveloping areas.

Avalon Theater Mural

ArtStop Mural