A group of Abilene ISD students and teachers took a well-deserved bow March 3 when their work for the Big Country Athletic Hall of Fame was unveiled to the public.
Students and teachers from Bowie Elementary School and Abilene High School – as well as AISD employees from facilities – all had a hand in creating a mural that will now greet visitors as they enter the museum, which is located near the main entrance to JC Penney.
Carole Pickett with the hall of fame contacted AISD Executive Director of Fine Arts Jay Lester a few months ago about an idea for students to produce a piece of art that would fill a blank wall outside the museum’s entrance. Lester took the idea to AISD Fine Arts Coordinator Brady Sloane-Duncan, who took it from there.
Sloane-Duncan went to Bowie art teacher Bethany Connell, who consulted her students on what should be on the mural, and then she drew the figures. Sports represented on the mural are football, baseball, golf, tennis, track and field, basketball and volleyball. Abilene High students then stepped in to finish up the project.
AHS students, led by art teachers Thomas Evans, Kelly McNamee and April Rifenburgh, painted the figures as well as the background to the mural that now has a permanent home. AISD facilities workers, under the direction of Rickey Wallace and led by supervisor Juan Zertuche, put all the pieces of the mural together.
“We were thrilled to have had the opportunity to create this mural,” Sloane-Duncan said. “It’s the perfect chance for our district to showcase the talent and dedication of our students and art educators while collaborating with a non-profit, which celebrates the athletic accomplishments of our community. This project took the combined efforts of many people, and we are so pleased with the final product.”
Abilene High junior Vanidee O’Neal wasn’t sure what to expect when the project was presented to the students, but she was happy with the finished product.
“I thought we were just painting something for class and that was it,” said O’Neal, who painted the rainbow background to the mural. “But once we found out what the project was and where it would be, I was very excited.”
The mural’s unveiling coincided with Big Art Day in Texas, which is a day that is used to make people in the state more aware of the importance of visual arts in schools. AISD schools across the district participated in various ways in Big Art Day.
