Student Artwork Brightens City Construction Fencing

FAIRFAX CITY, VA — Motorists traveling through the City of Fairfax will now be able to enjoy 250 feet worth of public art thanks to seven local art students.

On Saturday morning, city officials and representatives of The IDI Group Companies unveiled seven murals created by students in Mrs. PJ Naber's digital arts class at Fairfax High School. The murals will be on display along Fairfax Boulevard on the construction fencing for the The Flats at Boulevard VI project.

"Most of the crowd today are going to see these panels for the first time," IDI's Managing Director Enrico Cecchi told the crowd gathered in front of the old Paul VI High School building. "We've been looking at them for awhile."

Cecchi went on to praise the work of the artists and called on the crowd to give their teacher a round of applause. He then presented Naber with a $2,500 check to help Fairfax High's arts program.

Eleventh-grader Arian Assadzadeh decided that a school library would be the best representation of his theme, education. He combined that with a road as away to illustrate education leading to the future.

"Education is basically what's going to be my future," Assadzadeh said. "It's going to define what I do when I grow up."

With a strong interest in STEM subjects, Assadzadeh hopes to study computer science.

Isabella Colon started working on her mural design about "socializing" during the winter, when she couldn't hang out with her friends due to the pandemic.

"I imagined what it would be like if this didn't happen," she said, pointing to the mask covering her face and nose. "Everybody is just hanging out in the city, just strolling."

For her mural on the arts, Sarah Bird researched various art installations around the the city and incorporated pieces of them into her design.

"I also included some abstract colors and shapes based on the signal box wraps around Fairfax," she said.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Sofia Morales used the CUE bus frequently to get around the city, so it was natural for her to incorporate it into her mural about transportation.

"I used to take it to the library and close to my friends' houses," she said. "That was my main inspiration."

A senior at Fairfax High, Morales plans to pursue a career in art therapy, particularly for children and survivors of abuse.

"I wanted to find simple shapes that would relate to 'joining in' or 'going full circle,'" Rockett Beeson said about her mural on volunteerism. "So when I did a full circle, that's what I was thinking. I tried to choose mainly warm colors to show off a pleasant, happy vibe instead of any other form of unintended emotion. That's why I chose a sun and a circle with everyone."

Austin Eilbert took the art nouveau movement as the inspiration for his mural about nature.

"It's about flow and asymmetries," the Fairfax senior said. "I thought that fit with the theme of nature pretty well. I also took inspiration from the community and all the things we have in Fairfax."