The Wisconsin Union Directorate is spearheading a project to bring a mural to the notoriously bland and uninteresting cement exterior of the Mosse Humanities building, home to arts, music and history classes.
The WUD Art Committee hired local artist Sharon Kilfoy, who has worked on similar art initiatives at public buildings around Madison, to head the project and assist students in the committee in designing and constructing the mural.
The mural would illustrate a representation of what the humanities mean to students. The committee said it hopes to involve a variety of humanities students in the project, including those involved in music, dance, art and history.
The approximate budget for the project is $8,000. An Innovative Grant from the Wisconsin Union Directorate will provide $5,000 of those funds, and the committee hopes to earn the rest of the money through fundraising.
Before the plans can proceed, the Campus Planning Committee must approve the location and basic design of the mural.
Student leaders are pushing for a prominent location on the Humanities building, such as one facing Park Street, where the mural would be highly visible.
But UW Facilities Planning Manager Daniel Einstein said it may not be possible for the mural to be on such a prominent location of Humanities.
“There will be more resistance by [CPC] members to higher profile locations,” Einstein said.
Einstein also said although the university’s master plan may include tearing down the Humanities building in the next five to 10 years, there are currently no specific plans to do so.
Despite the uncertainty of the building’s future, WUD Art Committee Director Carly Herzog said the organization still wants to pursue the new project because of the amount of time students spend in the Humanities building.
“It is important to invest in whatever space we’re in,” Herzog said.
The CPC will review the mural plans at its meeting April 25.
