MANSFIELD — Arlillian Nixon believes each child carries light and imagination within them.
Nixon, a kinship navigator for Richland County Children Services, said some children “have their lights dimmed by abuse.”
“It takes a strong family and a lot of love to bring that light back to them,” she said. “I see kids come in broken every day, but to see the light on their faces when they do get love is the greatest thing ever.”
Nixon was inspired by her work and her own three kids to create a mural near Theatre 166 and the Buckeye Imagination Museum. She unveiled her painting in a series of 10 murals on Wednesday evening.
Artist and Mankind Murals director Luke Beekman said the art will stay at their current locations for the next few months. With financial support from the Richland County Foundation and Mansfield Public Arts Commission, the panel walls will continue to host artwork.
“This series of public artwork is such an incredible example of artists working with a subject matter that impacts the community,” he said. “We’re creating art to inspire a brighter future for youth in our community to feel love, joy and to feel understood.”
The artwork series, titled “Through the Eyes of a Child: Painting for Prevention and Adoption,” are 4-foot-by-8-foot exterior artwork panels between the Renaissance Theatre and Park Hospitality & Conference Center, and by the Buckeye Imagination Museum.
Brigitte Coles, community engagement specialist for Richland County Children Services, said she brought the idea of public art for Child Abuse Prevention Month to Beekman to raise awareness for foster care and adoption.
“A lot of people in the community don’t know what we do, and our goal is to keep children safe,” Coles said. “You can feel so much love in this room, and that’s reflective of all the love that our children need.
“These murals symbolize the importance of protecting and supporting our children. These murals are going up at the end of April, which is child abuse prevention month, and they’re also helping us kick off National Foster Care Month in May.”
Each artist explained their pieces in a reception following the art unveiling.
Drew Anderson
Anderson’s mural features a teddy bear superhero created by a young boy, also represented in the painting.
“For most kids, their parents are their heroes,” he said. “But some children suffer abuse at the hands of their parents or caretakers, so they have to create their own superheroes to protect them.”
The name of the piece is “Foster Care the Super Bear.” It is also Anderson’s first mural.
Brandon Doup
“With this piece, I took the theme literally, ‘through the eyes of a child,’ and I wanted it to show children in Mansfield,” Doup said. “My little daughter, Evelyn, posed for me and we did all the fun stuff around town together.”
Doup said viewers will be able to see Mansfield landmarks as they study the mural closer, including architecture from Richland Carrousel windows and the original marquee of the Renaissance Theatre.
Margaret Freed
Freed’s piece features children flying on horses in front of a colorful blue sky. She also features 10 blue ribbons throughout the piece to represent child abuse prevention.
“I remember, when I was a little kid, the idea of flying really appealed to me and I also loved horses,” Freed said. “This is the biggest piece I’ve ever made, it was so much fun, and I hope children like looking at the bright colors.”
Susan Gentille
Gentille began painting her mural thinking she would portray escaping a dreary past and looking toward a peaceful future.
Her piece includes a young girl caught between two landscapes. Gentille said she didn’t realize until after her mural was done that she had painted her mom, who was born in 1932 and died in 2019.
“She was the last of eight kids, her parents were getting a divorce, and they decided — because of the Depression — they had to give away the two youngest,” Gentille said. “My mother was given away like a puppy, and there were no children’s services at the time.
“For the next 18 years, my mother lived with this woman that abused her physically and mentally every day of her life, and yet she became very successful. She was an eternal optimist that continuously ran away from her nightmares.”
Gentille said she found pictures of her mom as a young girl that looked “uncanny” to her painting.
“I really think she was guiding me as I painted this,” she said.
Jac Googins
Googins’ mural shows a boy wearing white against a dark and colorful background.
“This represents the innocence of children despite the dark background he faces,” she said. “He blows through his pinwheel and you can see the colorful and fruitful life that we have the power to provide.”
Googins said she was happy to join the mural project because she loves kids and wants to help protect them.
“They’re reliant on the adults around them to help them and make a difference,” she said. “If you see a child in need, speak up because you’re the ones they’re counting on.”
Kristine and Nathan Gukich
Husband-and-wife team Nathan and Kristine Gukich worked from the prompt of “formerly abused children with their heads in the clouds found their Midas touch child when they held the fruit of life.”
Nathan illustrated the mural and Kristine painted it.
“When we got this project, my focus was a beautiful getaway from whatever difficult environments one may face,” Nathan Gukich said. “The mindset was that a touch from the Midas child could alter the DNA of an individual.”
Demetrius Howell
Howell’s mural depicts his daughter Cali looking into a crystal ball of her opportunities.
“A child’s imagination is a seed that must be planted to grow a better future,” Howell said. “I wanted to think how Cali would picture different versions of her future self being the best she could be and doing what she loves.”
Arlillian Nixon
Nixon’s mural shows her and two of her sons in space.
“We all know that space is a dark place, so it’s up to parents to guide their children to the stars,” she said. “We are our children’s world and we show them the light.”
Evelia Sowash
Sowash’s mural shows a child flying on a butterfly to represent transformation and renewal.
“Flying above the churning cloud symbolizes the child’s liberation from darkness,” she said. “To me, the butterfly also represents a child’s imagination.”
Luke Beekman and the Mansfield Mural Club
Beekman collaborated with Howell, Mansfield Mural Club Members and local teachers to create a mural that shows a girl blowing bubbles on an open landscape.
“Working with kids and seeing how they evolve and grow can really touch their lives and your own,” Beekman said. “This whole series was about celebrating imagination and giving artists the opportunity to share and deepen that sense of community around the celebration of public art.”
Beekman thanked a number of supporters of this public art project including the Richland County Foundation, Public Arts Commission, The Renaissance Theatre, Buckeye Imagination Museum, Theatre 166 and the Richland Area Chamber & Economic Development.
The Richland County Development Group’s Mansfield Art Sector coordinated the Call to Artists and facilitated matching funds for the project through the Richland County Foundation.
