What was originally intended as a substitute for a written exam eventually developed into an impressive artistic expression: The students in the advanced art class in 13th grade were tasked with looking back on 76 years of Steinmühle’s history in their final project, artistically reflecting on the present, and at the same time designing a vision for the future. The result was to be a mural adorning the interior of the main building.

From Individual Figures to the Big Picture

“It’s truly amazing how the dynamic evolved from individually designed single figures toward a shared overall image of all five students,” says art teacher Ines Vielhaben, commenting on the creative process. It quickly became clear: All the figures should be sitting in a boat. To achieve this, the group decided to take on the challenge of creating life-size figures using the stencil art technique, which is well known from street art—particularly through Banksy.

Workshop in Giessen as preparation

In line with this, the class took part in a workshop led by Kai Krieger of 3 Steps at the HUETTE38 Art Hub in Giessen. Armed with their prepared stencils, the students used graffiti spray paint to spray-paint the rowboat and figures onto three strips of smooth wallpaper under expert guidance.

A work with multifaceted content

In terms of content, the work is multi-layered: The figure in the background, with its black face, symbolizes the fading memories of prominent members of the school community. The next figure refers to the successes in the important Steinmühlen “Jugend forscht” program—depicted by a bubbling laboratory experiment. The next figure, wearing the distinctive red one-piece uniform, represents the school’s current successes in rowing and its international victories, accompanied by the German flag as a symbol of the international context. Another figure, composed of pixels, embodies the future, shaped by digitalization and artificial intelligence. Finally, the coxswain looks ahead, pointing toward a hopeful future. His jersey features a combination of various versions of the Steinmühle’s past and present logos.

Display during Senior Year Theme Week

During the graduating class’s theme week, they managed to enlist the help of the facilities staff to install the mural. Together with the art class, the artwork was installed in the main building next to the cafeteria entrance. The event was accompanied by lively music and applause from fellow graduating seniors. Special thanks go to the students involved—Cilia Evelbauer, Janice Houdek, Raphael Richard Miller, Nele Schultheis, and Lina Zippel—as well as their art teacher, Ines Vielhaben, for the successful completion of this extraordinary project.