What began as a blank construction wall in the Commons has now become a vibrant and meaningful work of art, thanks to the creativity and leadership of the Trinity Hall Art Club and Arts Council.
With the current construction project underway, the Trinity Hall community anticipates the opening of the new Commons, which will more than double in size. A temporary construction wall was placed in the Commons at the beginning of the school year as a barrier to the active construction site to not disrupt students as the construction partners work tirelessly on the new space. For most of the school year, the wall remained blank; however, over the past few months, the Art Club and Arts Council have captured the true meaning of the Trinity Hall student journey upon the wall.
The mural, unveiled right before spring break, is more than just a decorative piece. The hand-painted artwork is a visual storytelling of the Trinity Hall student journey, centered on the school’s four core values: Leadership, Respect, Perseverance and Faith. The idea was initially proposed by Head of School Mrs. Kiernan as a way to bring color and excitement to the Commons during construction. With her encouragement, art and design teacher Mrs. Erin Straine tapped Art Club leaders Gianna Di Lascia ’25 and Celia Ekhelar ’26 to bring the vision to life.
"The mural was encouraged by Mrs. Kiernan to beautify the Commons space while construction was happening," shared Mrs. Straine. "I sought out Gianna and Celia to collaborate with leadership from the Arts Council. They were tasked with brainstorming project ideas and coming up with a creative concept. Gianna and Celia took their concept centered around our four core values of Leadership, Respect, Perseverance, and Faith and pitched their mural concept to Mrs. Kiernan. She approved the concept and was very excited to see the end result.”
The mural was no small feat. Di Lascia and Ekhelar formed a group of volunteers from Art Club and the Arts Council to help with the project. Together, they spent many hours of their free time hand-painting every detail on the mural. Straine added, “Gianna and Celia exercised excellent project management skills, as was evident from the beauty surrounding the finished project. The intent is to preserve the mural and have a copy of it in our new arts conservatory gallery space next year.”
Di Lascia and Ekhelar also put an incredible amount of forethought into the design of the mural. At the bottom of the painting is a winding road, symbolizing each student’s personal path through her four years at Trinity Hall. Along the road are images that reflect school life—from athletics and academics to arts and faith traditions—capturing how the core values come to life in everyday experiences.
“The idea behind the mural was to have a road portraying the journey through Trinity Hall,” explained Di Lascia. “We chose different images that symbolize how these values are lived out in our community. It was a long process and took countless hours to finish, but it was a fun project to do with the club. We hope it makes the space more lively and reminds everyone of all the traditions and moments that make Trinity Hall special.”
What began as a temporary solution has become a lasting legacy. Once construction is complete, the mural will be preserved and relocated to the school’s new arts space as a reminder of student collaboration, creativity and the values that define the Trinity Hall experience.