The Power “Art can be very powerful, as powerful as written or spoken words.” - Katy Jones, Assistant Professor of Art and Design at Midland University Katy Jones witnessed first-hand how true those words are. In November, Jones oversaw the completion of the diversity mural at Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Omaha. It was a culmination of months of planning and painting where a group of diverse people from different backgrounds came together for one common goal. “The mural gave us an end product we could attach ourselves to,” Jones said. “People felt good enough to express what they thought it should look like and take a stand for something. I think we all connected and got a little closer.” Jones, who’s mother works at the church, was approached by Senior Pastor James Killough ‘85, about the need for artists to create paintings during outdoor worship services. As Jones searched for potential projects, she began brainstorming with students Courtney Sayer and Dominique Hocij, who both worked with Jones as part of the Blank Space Art Hub.
22 Midland Magazine
“The Black Lives Movement was going on and Courtney, Dominique, and I would talk about what was happening and how we could respond,” Jones said. “We lost Dominique to a car accident in June and that was such a blow to us because she was such a gifted and talented person. Courtney and I weren’t sure if we could even keep the project going. So we started to reach out to more groups and found more people willing to help.” One of those groups was the Midland University Black Student Union. With the help of BSU, the project took shape in October when work on the 4-foot by 40-foot mural began to take form. BSU President Keenan Smith said the project started a little slowly, but gained momentum as people began to work together. “When we first started, one of my biggest concerns was would enough people show up?” Smith said. “As we did more planning, I had the opportunity to meet members of the church. During those meetings, I was able to see how excited people were to be a part of this project. I was so excited to see all the people that came out to help and the best part was working with all the kids that showed up to help.”