A gift to the class of 2021 has students admiring and reminiscing on how much they overcame last year to get to where they are today.
Local artist Micheal Brown has painted many murals in Chapel Hill, including the well-known “Blue Painting” located on Rosemary Street. The painting features a night-time cityscape of Chapel Hill.
A graduate of both Chapel Hill High School and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Brown has painted murals in North Carolina, Virginia, New York, Florida and Baltimore.
Brown was hired by the school last year to construct a mosaic of a tiger whose pieces come together as viewers walk by it. Brown said that the mural symbolizes the school community—even though students and faculty were isolated in their homes because of the pandemic, they were still able to come together and support each other.
Completed at the very end of the 2020-2021 school year, the mural was the school’s gift to graduating seniors.
“I thought it was so cool and creative,” Phoebe Howes, who returned for in-person instruction as a senior last March but now attends Capernwray Bible School in England, said. “I really like the mosaic/geometric style of it. It was so fun watching it form into a tiger as you walk by it.”
Many students like walking by the painting on their way to class and remembering all of the hardships they fought through.
“I like [that the mural] really represents the hardships [we faced] and how tough we all are to have had a year where we embodied the mascot perfectly,” sophomore Rayna Chatain said. “Tigers represent strength and courage, and I think we all demonstrated that many times last year, especially the senior class.”
Principal Charles Blanchard contracted Brown largely due to his ties to Chapel Hill High School
“Mr. Brown is a prominent local artist who is also a CHHS alum,” Blanchard said. “He has a strong connection with our school community and has done a couple of other pieces on our campus.”
