Central Building Stairwell Gets a Makeover
| One of the stairwells on campus has gotten an inspiring facelift.
The Get Healthy UAMS committee chose three artists to paint murals in the Central Building’s Stairwell Five, located behind the C elevators. The murals are located between the ground floor and the first floor.
Merideth Addicott, an assistant professor in the Psychiatric Research Institute, recreated a green art nouveau-style mural of two herons by A. Smit.
“We wanted to encourage those employees who are able to take the stairs more,” said Natalie Cannady, director of the UAMS Wellness Program. “Even though it may not seem like much, walking one to two floors a day is beneficial to your overall health. Those steps add up.”
Two UAMS employees and one student were the artists chosen to help with the project. Each had a unique vision that the Get Healthy UAMS committee thought would make an impact, said Cannady. The artists donated their time to create the murals.
The murals turned out beautifully, said Cannady.
Merideth Addicott, an assistant professor in the Psychiatric Research Institute, recreated a green art nouveau-style mural of two herons by A. Smit that was first published in 1907 in “The Art Decorator; designs in colours for art workers and amateurs.”
The stairwell isn’t the only place on campus where one can see Addicott’s work. She also has painted a couple of murals for PRI.
“I used to do more painting and drawing back in high school and college, but I don’t do much of it now,” she said. “This was a fun project for the weekend.”
Shalese (Fitz) Fitzgerald, a biostatician in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine’s Research Evaluation Division, painted “Discrete Space 1.”
“I’ve been drawing these types of designs for a long time,” he said of the black and blue mural’s attempt to convey three-dimensional space. “I think the original inspiration came from looking at lights as they came through window blinds.”
Shalese (Fitz) Fitzgerald, a biostatician in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine’s Research Evaluation Division, painted “Discrete Space 1.”
For Fitzgerald, the mural gave him a chance to share his art with a new audience and meant that he didn’t have to worry about storing the finished piece.
Marissa Miller, who is in her first year in the College of Health Professions’ Physician Assistant Studies program, was the lone student artist to participate. She painted a blue sky, complete with fluffy white clouds, and an arrow, which has been filled in with her classmates’ handprints, that pointed up. A motivational saying, “There is no elevator to success,” completed the mural.
“I designed this mural so that as you climb the stairs, you look up toward the sky,” she said.
Cannady said the committee was pleased with the artwork and hopes to do this again.
“The response from Team UAMS has been very positive,” she said. “Many people have said how the artwork makes the space seem happy, upbeat and more welcoming.”