Artwork > Community Mural Projects > Youth Projects > Schools

Rise, 2016
The Victor School, Acton

I was honored to lead a collaborative mural project at The Victor School in Acton as part of an artist-in-residency with the Justice Resource Institute. This was the first of three JRI murals and it took place in the Fall of 2016 as I worked with high school students with social/emotional needs. It represents the students ideas about resiliency and was inspired by the Confucious quote: “Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”

Read below for the artist statement written by one of the students:

This mural, called Rise, represents the undying resiliency of students here at The Victor School. Led by artist Tova Speter and supported by JRI, this project helps to visualize the spirit of the school in a creative way. Many sections of the mural represent different parts. They represent the journey all the students here have traveled, and all the journeys that are yet to come.

At top left, the section Our Cosmic Home shows Earth and our moon Luna in front of a backdrop of stars and our Milky Way Galaxy. This section represents the wonder and marvel of life and all existence, displays our innate curiosity as humans, the fact that we all look up at the same sky, as well as highlighting the miracle of science, its importance, and the infinite distant goals we can achieve as individuals and a species as a whole.

At top right we have our sun, Sol, with a quote from the legendary philosopher Confucius inside. This quote embodies the challenges we all face in life and the magnificence and satisfaction of overcoming said challenges. Its rays spread light upon everything around it, guiding us all to happiness.

At bottom right we have the FriendSHIP. This boat, carrying friends in the form of the TVS logo and our precious school pets, also features paddles with the words Respect, Curiosity, and Collaboration. This represents how our friends help keep us afoat during hard times, and how we can all work together to make the world a better place.

The spiral and polka dots in the different layers of waves represent how everyone’s journey is unique, yet interconnected. They represent life’s spontaneous nature, and the occasional feeling of going in circles. At the bottom we have waves and ashes. These represent the harder times in life, when the sea is rough and we burn out. Finally, we have the magnificent phoenix rising from the waves and ashes. It represents how we can all rise again from tough times, and continue our journey in life even stronger and more confident. Its wings reach into space, reaching our sun and the stars, showing just how infinitely far we can go as people as we fall and rise again and again. The borders are filled with pictures drawn by all the students and staff, showing us as all unique and connected, each supporting each other up and making each other stronger.

In the end, Rise represents the community here at TVS, the greatness we can all achieve, and the wondrous universe that awaits us beyond.