One of the historic academic wing murals from 1993 is being replaced with Kansas City inspired artwork. 

The mural, designed by senior Ingrid Bustos, is set to be completed by the end of this school year. Despite being in the beginning stages, the blue and brown sketch lines show the faint outlines of iconic landmarks like the plaza fountain, the new ferris wheel and the street car. 

“What most inspired me were the significant monuments that very much encapsulate what Kansas City is, what makes it unique, stuff that really stood out and is significant for people who live in Kansas City,” Bustos says, “That’s why I chose every monument and decided to add the street car and things that every day people in the city use.”

Bustos did the bulk of designing in her 2nd hour graphic design class, taught by Kimberly Ruttan. The process took her four hours from Ruttan explaining the mural assignment to her digital mockup.

“I found images of what monuments I wanted to use, then I sketched them out in my sketchbook,” Bustos explains, “after I did that, I made a digital design of it, and I chose the colours which made it come to life in a way,”

The mural is being painted by murals club, sponsored by Ruttan, every Friday after school. It provides opportunities for students to get involved in more permanent spaces for student art.

“It’s so cool to know that you have a sense of permanence, you know, you’re not like graduating and walking out,” Ruttan said, “I think there’s opportunities for all kinds of interaction, I think that’d be amazing and there’s lots of ways we could do that,”