Leaders of Today, Elyria Arts Council unveil student murals

ELYRIA — After months of hard work, high schools from Lorain and Elyria got to see their murals displayed at Pioneer Plaza Friday evening as part of the Leaders of Today Public Arts and Culture Program. A partnership between Leaders of Today and the Elyria Arts Council paired eight students with artists David Pavlak and Anne Jesse to create the 8-by-4-foot murals based on pieces chosen from a Black History Month exhibit earlier this year. Elyria students Ayden Pol, Priscilla Yrad, Abigail Clayton, Sylvia Lyons, and Emese Toth, alongside Lorain students Ja'Rayia Warner and Chloe Torres and Amherst student Jacob Robinson have worked for months at the Arts Council to create the pieces displayed outside Friday evening. Some also wrote poetry to accompany their work. Leaders of Today executive director Marsalis Hammons said the event wouldn't have happened without support from the Lorain County Community Foundation racial equity fund and other partnerships. "One of the tag lines of Leaders of Today is 'Together we lead' and it's not to say that a leader is determined by how much money they have in their pocket, what their title is, how old they are, but it's about the positive change you have on the community around you … I could not do this alone," he said. "Leaders of Today could not do this alone as an organization but the support and partnership of Elyria Arts Council made this possible." That partnership with the Arts Council was the first of its kind, board member Clint Rohrbacher said. Sitting in the grass with his husband and fellow artist, David Pavlak, the pair watched as students gave brief speeches about their works — many of them thanking Hammons and others for the opportunity to create the murals. "We've had a lot of arts programs with kids but this is the first time that we've actually collaborated with another organization on this scale," Rohrbacher said. "It's kind of a dream come true for us because this is something that we've been trying to achieve and reach out deeper into the community and this was kind of the perfect wedding of vision … This will not be the last time, we are definitely going to continue this." But Friday's event was not without its hiccups. When Pavlak and Rohrbacher arrived Friday morning, they found the lines holding the tent up in Pioneer Square had been cut, and the material itself slashed. The pair credited the city's Parks and Recreation Department and its director, Carrie Reardon, with getting the tent repaired enough to host the event. There are no cameras in Pioneer Square, though Pavlak said the Arts Council would be open to putting some up. He said the city plans to put flood lights on the Arts Council building to illuminate the square, and he expects the library on the neighboring lot will have lights as well. Even with the setback Friday morning, art marches on. Student work highlighted the Black Lives Matter movement, racial injustice, COVID-19, mental health and other deep issues — while giving the students participating a chance to grow. Pavlak noted some of the students were so shy when they first started coming to the program, but after months of working with himself and Jesse, found their voices. Take Ja'Rayia Warner, a junior at Lorain High School, whose soft-spoken demeanor gave way to a powerful singing voice, Pavlak said. Her piece, "The Hood" was accompanied by a poem she read highlighting her experience as a young Black woman living in a dangerous area. "My art gives me hope that there is a chance out there for girls who look like me," she said in her artist's statement. "It makes me believe that I'm more than what people portrayed me to be." Elyria high school junior Ayden Pol would agree. His piece, "Human!," shows people with no faces, to include individuals of different race, ethnicities, gender, sexuality, religion or medical condition. "The youth are not really heard in communities throughout this country, and it is really important for us in Lorain County to be one of those communities for the youths to be heard," he said. The murals will be displayed throughout Elyria and Lorain through September, when they will be moved to the new downtown Elyria Library. Contact Carissa Woytach at (440) 329-7245 or cwoytach@chroniclet.com.