Finding My Place Through Art: My Journey to Mending Walls at Penn State- Mending Walls Penn State Blog Series

Hello everyone, my name is Bannesa Hernandez and I am currently a rising senior at Penn State University, studying Art and Psychology. I am currently a part of a club that was inspired by the Mending Walls RVA project,created by Hamilton Glass, called Mending Walls at Penn State. I got the amazing opportunity to share myexperience of being a part of this project and how it has impacted my time here at Penn State. I thought I’d introduce how I heard about it and how I got involved in this post and I’ll save what we do at Penn State for another post.

I first want to introduce myself a bit more and explain how I discovered art as a passion of mine and how it connects to the project. I was introduced to art at a very young age as my dad would draw all the time. Growing up, I would doodle in class on my work sheets and eventually started taking it more seriously. Ever since then, I began to paint here and there but I felt a bit limited because my schools didn’t offer art classes. When I entered high school, I went to a college prep school, which offered STEM classes. Throughout my high school years, I didn’t have that spark to create because I felt embarrassed that I was more on the artsy side. So, when it came to applying for colleges, I wasn’t planning on applying to any at first. My brain kept telling me I wouldn’t be happy studying something I didn’t like. But then I decided to just take the risk and apply to schools for art. I decided to pick Penn State because I loved their Visual Arts program, and it wasn’t too far from home. I felt out of place, but in the end, I am very happy that I made that decision.

Back in 2023, I was a sophomore in my second semester looking to join clubs and branch out. I was still having trouble adjusting to college life but wanted to join something that included art, but in a different way than how I normally create. I happened to meet our Student Engagement Advisor, Robin Bierly, who was starting this new project and wanted some students to participate. That is when she introduced me to Mending Walls RVA, in which two artists are paired to create a mural but also get to know each other and how their lived experiences were like. When I heard that she was talking to Hamilton about starting a project like that at Penn State, I knew that this was the perfect opportunity to be a part of something great.

It started off with two students at Penn State designing a mural together, in which they incorporated the conversation aspect of the project when meeting up. Once that mural was designed, it was then transferred onto wood panels. Then there were sessions where students could sign up to participate in painting the mural. That was the thing that got me to join this project because it was more like a community mural, engaging students not only from the College of Arts and Architecture, but from other colleges at Penn State.

📷 Courtesy of Mending Walls Penn State

I happened to participate in the first session they had, and I can admit, I was a bit nervous because I didn’t know anyone there but that was the whole point of the project. You were meeting people and getting to know them, from different backgrounds, different places, and overall different people. When the students got there, we were paired with another student who we didn’t know and continued that idea of building a conversation about lived experiences like where we came from, what makes us motivated, what inspires us, and so forth while painting the mural. Being in that position made me realize how different and alike people can be. It also opened my eyes to how other people view the world, their communities, and themselves.

I was overly inspired to get involved in a deeper level, not just participating in the sessions. That’s when Robin offered me a spot on the committee, in which we plan what goes on behind the scenes, and I gladly accepted. I felt like I was a part of something that not only was important in terms of my values, but also how public art can bring people together and spread awareness on issues that are currently going on in the world right now, especially being on a college campus. It was a project well worth getting into.