‘Art Alchemist’ Helps West Orange Teens Create Mural At High School

WEST ORANGE, NJ — The following news release comes courtesy of the West Orange Public School District. Learn more about posting announcements or events to your local Patch site.

Artist Elijah Minton, also known as “The Art Alchemist,” partnered with the Urban Art and Communications class at West Orange High School to create a unique “Dream Big” mural in the hallway outside Tarnoff Cafeteria. The project was completed on March 31.

Minton, a WOHS Class of 2009 grad, has made an impact in the urban art world over the past few years, completing projects for the Red Bulls as well as murals in Manhattan, New Jersey, the Bronx, Brooklyn, Houston, the World Trade Center, and Angela Simmons’ penthouse.

Formed in 2020, this is the first year the Urban Art and Communication Class has completed a mural, and they anticipate it to be an annual, year-end large-scale project in the school or in the community.

Minton collaborated with the class to create a mural featuring a pilot and the words “Dream Big” in colorful letters. Students painted the interior of the letters with images representing their own big dreams. The project took over 40 hours to complete.

WOHS Art teacher Nicole Krulik was enthusiastic about the collaboration.

“I have been teaching for over 20 years and I have never seen a class so excited and motivated about a project. This has been an incredible social and emotional learning experience for all the students involved.”

Read more about Elijah Minton here.

Don’t forget to visit the Patch West Orange Facebook page. Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com. Sign up for Patch email newsletters.