Foothills Mural Honors the Past & Present
Foothills Mural Honors the Past & Present
As most of our families have seen, locally renowned artists Hawk Sahlein and Collin Pfeifer of Sector Seventeen have just about finished the mural they're creating for Foothills, and it looks so amazing!
Foothills commissioned Sahlein, an alum of our school, and Pfeifer to help tell the story of Foothills School and the River Street neighborhood. This wrap-around, two-story mural located at the intersection of 9th Street and Miller Street features elements that Foothills students study and helps build a sense of place in this unique, historic downtown school location.
Local flora and fauna, alongside other science concepts, have been mixed whimsically with the arts central to the Foothills School experience in the mural, referencing projects that have been impactful to the school’s project-based learning approach. When asked what he most values about what he learned at Foothills, Sahlein shared, “Being encouraged to think for myself and being able to pursue what I’m most passionate about are two of the most valuable things I learned from Foothills.”
The mural also honors the history of the River Street neighborhood, which was historically a Black neighborhood. Chinese, Basque, and Hispanic immigrants also resided in this vibrant neighborhood, which was filled with culture, music, food, and life. The school selected an image of the ‘Andre Family Orchestra,’ in which Erma Hayman is featured as a young woman sitting at a piano, to highlight the arts through time. The photograph comes from Boise City Department of Arts & History’s ‘River Street Neighborhood Collection’ of images.
Foothills’ Head of School Nick Cofod shared, “We want to honor the history of the community we reside in, as knowing our history informs the responsibilities we carry into the future. Our project-based approach to learning often results in meaningful community connections and service learning for our students, helping to inspire our practice of being the kind of community we envision for the world.”
The school welcomes the public to drop by and check out the mural and is hosting a meet and greet during next week’s First Thursday event (5/2) from 5:00-9:00 to talk more about the elements featured in the artwork.
~Katy Young
Director of Enrollment Management & Marketing