New Mural Celebrates East High School

New Mural Celebrates East High School History
Posted on 12/14/2018
East High MuralAcross the nation, Green Bay is famously known for the Packers and their home: Lambeau Field. However, before Lambeau Field, the Packers played at a small stadium on the east side of Green Bay called City Stadium. Now the home of Green Bay East High School, the Red Devil football team plays under these historic stadium lights. After over 60 years of use, City Stadium needed an upgrade to improve its exterior presentation. Combining art and athletics, an eye-popping mural was born. 
 
Seeing great potential, Lori Frerk, Principal of East High, gathered a small group of people to brainstorm names of local artists to design and create a mural on the facilities building near the field to create an outstanding experience for visitors. As a 2009 East graduate, Beau Thomas was an obvious choice for designing and completing the mural. Once selected, Beau dove into researching the stadium using old photos and yearbooks and was inspired by the rich history of East High and City Stadium.
 
However, the mural was not just to please visitors. Throughout the process, students in the Fine Arts Institute met with Beau to learn about the project. Lucinda Roberts, Fine Arts Coordinator says, “We wanted to make sure that our Fine Arts Institute students benefited...and learned something from it too.” The students did just that, learned about the brainstorming process, tools, and techniques of mural painting. Beau also told them about his professional experience as an artist to give the students striving to be professional artists an inside look at the business. 
 
On October 5, 2018 the final product was revealed to the students, staff, and community. The mural is titled “The Tradition Continues,” and shows the historic past and present of East High. One side features athletes from the Packers using black and white tones to convey the historic significance. Beau states, “It’s one thing to hear that the Packers used to play there and it’s another thing to see a giant portrait of one of their players catching a pass.” Around the corner, current athletes at East High are featured in bright colors celebrating the present and future success of the students who walk through the halls at East High.
 
With the mural completed, East High looks toward the future for its students and community. The mural helps to bring awareness, not only to athletics, but to the Fine Arts Institute as well. Having the mural at the school shows students that there are real opportunities in art. Beau hopes that the project “gives them something to look up to and shows them what’s possible.” Principal Frerk hopes the impact of the mural will move through the entire school and community stating, “this mural shows a positive element of our school and the connection to the community.”
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