A stark white wall in a music lab now provides visual inspiration for students to compose and produce their music.
Mya Diabira, a 2024 Black Hawk College graduate, was commissioned to create an original mural to hang in the electronic music lab at the college’s Quad-Cities Campus.
The BHC Art, Design and Performing Arts Department applied for and received a mini-grant from the Black Hawk College Foundation to fund the project.
The result was “Wavelengths,” a four-panel acrylic mural that incorporates images of musical instruments, light and sound balanced in harmony with two figures in nature.
Diabira – an award-winning painter from Bettendorf, IA – also played the flute in the BHC Jazz Ensemble and transferred to Augustana College in Fall 2024.
“Being that Mya is exceptionally talented and traverses both the art and music realms, it is a rare opportunity to incorporate Mya’s mural art within the walls of the music spaces,” Dr. Irene Leites, department co-chair, wrote in the mini-grant application.
The goal of the project was to “reflect the incredible creativity that happens in this classroom, and to further inspire musical collaboration.”
“In essence, when you walk into a classroom and see work by an artist that took risks and put forth something original and unique, you are more likely to do so yourself,” Dr. Leites wrote.
“Art is soul work,” Diabira said at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the mural. “Art is a vessel for the soul to utilize its energy and prove its existence.
“The soul that can often feel trapped when being unable to shine, maybe it thinks by sharing itself with others it will be set free,” she said.
Artist Mya Diabira with representatives from the BHC Art, Design and Performing Arts Department and the BHC Foundation at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for her mural, ‘Wavelengths.’