One of the oldest buildings on Milledgeville’s Central State Hospital campus received a fresh upgrade with a large-scale art mural.
“I wanted something painted on the wall that would reflect what is happening today at Central State Hospital,” said Darrell Davis, director of STEMversity. “There are a lot of great opportunities happening there for a lot of people.”
Matt Jackson, a junior at Savannah School of Arts & Design, painted a phoenix rising from ashes last month on the exterior wall of the Wilkes building. “I couldn’t believe that he wanted me to actually paint a mural on the outside of the building,” said Jackson. “Mr. Davis said what better way to use my concept since Central State is trying to rise up again.”
Davis is the founder of Committee for Action Programs Services – Analytical Training Laboratory (CAPS-ATL), the non-profit organization which runs STEMversity. STEM stands for “Science, Technology, Engineering and Math”. STEMversity, which introduces middle and high school students from the Milledgeville area to the study of forensic science, will start its second Summer Science Training Academy this year on the CSH campus.
“It’s another way to bring art to STEM, too,” Jackson said. “Actually, I think they need to add the letter A to the word STEM to represent art.”
Watch a video of Matt Jackson painting the mural.