Green Bay Reporter

Howe Elementary Community School unveiled and dedicated its new playground mural that features six different students and celebrates diversity on Wednesday, Oct. 13. 

The mural was sponsored by Fox Communities Credit Union and each class was given an opportunity to paint a piece of the mural, Fox 11 News reported. 

"A great message to be sending to the community, the importance of diversity in our schools and community and the power of art to bring people together and send them a positive message," Green Bay Mayor Eric Genrich said. 

The mural project first started in December 2020 when staff and students from How Elementary Community School began voting on a theme for the piece. Families were encouraged to submit photos of their children to be considered for the new mural, and out of the more than 30 submissions, the six featured students were selected, NBC 26 reported. 

Also supporting the project was Downtown Green Bay that provided the paint budget and Immel Construction supplied scaffolding for the mural to be completed. The City of Green Bay brought the project through the city council and the Public Arts Commission with unanimous approval, NBC 26 reported. 

The mural was painted by artist Irineo Medina, as well as students – every classroom had the opportunity to meet Medina and work on a section of the mural. The mural was inspired by the school’s mission statement: “Howe is a place of excellence where ALL students are resilient, capable, brilliant learners who are empowered to reach their full potential and make valuable contributions to society.”

Medina works with a wide range of media including printmaking, photography, drawing and other. His interest is in how the relationship of people with their environments, according to a biographical piece on his website. Medina is an artist who lives in Appleton.