Campus Murals

Campus murals at Gallaudet University transform shared spaces into vibrant expressions of Deaf creativity, storytelling, and community pride. Featuring both student-created and professional artworks, the mural program highlights a dynamic range of perspectives and artistic voices across campus. Now entering its fourth year in 2026, the Student Art Mural Program invites students to participate through an open call for art, with submissions reviewed for eligibility before being shared with the Gallaudet student community for a campus-wide vote. Alongside student murals, professional art murals—such as the work by Laural Hartman at Elstad—add lasting, large-scale artworks that enrich the visual and cultural landscape of the university.

Hanson Plaza Student Art Murals

2023: You Matter Here

Etasha Stone

The mural has a blue background with “YOU MATTER HERE” in yellow. Below this is an image with two butterflies and hands in many skin tones. The butterfly on the left represents the transgender flag colors: pink, brown, and blue; while the right butterfly contains the LGBTQIA+ flag colors, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and purple. In a nod to the iconic stained glass windows in College Hall, the hands are holding a red stained glass heart. Below them are roots from which pink cherry blossoms are blooming.

2024: Bloom Where You Are Planted

August Bird

The mural explores the theme of perseverance through challenges, inviting viewers to find personal meaning within the work. Feedback from multiple individuals has shown a wide range of interpretations, demonstrating the mural’s ability to resonate differently with each viewer.

Sydney Block

Surrounding the hands are various flowers representing different ways of blooming, symbolizing that while individuals grow and express themselves differently, they all share a common humanity. The mural reflects the diversity of the campus community, celebrating difference while affirming that all forms of growth are equally beautiful.

Katilyn Ruble

The mural design features flowers found throughout Washington, D.C., symbolizing the idea that one can always bloom where they are planted, whether on a permanent or seasonal path. It also encourages viewers to explore floral spaces across the city, inviting them to seek inspiration and renewal through nature.

2025: Hope for the Future

Zoe Abrams-Gay

“With hope, the future is limitless” emphasizes the power of hope in shaping possibility and progress. Using a focused three-color palette of peach, purple, and black to symbolize warmth, creativity, vision, and strength, the design is intentionally simple, accessible, and visually striking. Inspired by the belief that hope drives innovation and resilience, the mural offers a modern, timeless aesthetic and serves as a daily positive reminder for the community, encouraging optimism, perseverance, and belief in a brighter, limitless future.

Davina Mayor

The mural depicts diverse hands holding the Earth—symbolizing Gallaudet University as the heart of community and communication—rendered in Gallaudet buff and blue. Surrounded by flowers, planets, and butterflies, the imagery represents growth, unity, and transformation. Sunflowers convey collective strength, while four smaller planets reflect community diversity, including representations of the International Deaf Flag and Transgender and LGBTQ+ communities. Through these elements, the artist emphasizes visibility, representation, and advocacy, inspiring hope and a brighter future.

Nathaniel Rusinowicz

The mural features the artist’s hands signing “hope” and “future,” accompanied by arrows referencing Back to the Future. Elements of outer space are woven throughout the design, reflecting the artist’s sense of hope and optimism. While the mural does not include specific imagery such as stars, planets, comets, or zodiac symbols, it aims to evoke the feeling of being in outer space to reinforce themes of possibility and wonder.

2026: Creative Independence

ZaniBelle Hoglind

Gallaudet University currently has limited public art that spotlights historical Deaf women, with most existing sculptures honoring historical men. This mural centers on Agatha Tiegel Hanson, the first woman to earn a Bachelor’s degree from Gallaudet and one of the thirteen founders of the O.W.L.S. Her many contributions to Deaf history helped pave the way for generations of Deaf women.

As an artist, I wanted to acknowledge Agatha as a significant historical figure whose legacy continues to resonate. She is known for saying, “The world is broader than the vision of those who say, ‘You cannot, because you are a woman; you cannot, because you are Deaf.’ We must show them that we can.” The phrase “We must show that we can” extends beyond gender, offering a message of empowerment that is universal and enduring.
The colors purple, white, and green are drawn from the women’s rights movement, further reinforcing themes of strength, resilience, and collective progress.

Marisa Montoya

Upon arriving at Gallaudet University and driving along Lincoln Circle past the Field House, the first landmark that comes into view is the Bison statue. Positioned behind it, the Field House displays Gallaudet’s colors—an element that, while not directly replicated in the mural, informs its spirit and visual presence, evoking the identity and pride associated with the Bison.

The sun and surrounding flowers reference the natural habitat of the bison, grounding the imagery in themes of land and environment. The flowers symbolize growth, resilience, and diversity, while also creating a visual dialogue with other murals on campus that incorporate floral motifs. Even in the depths of winter, these painted flowers remain in bloom, offering a sense of continuity and vitality.

Rendered in a colorful, slightly abstract style, the mural reflects the artist’s approach while inviting open interpretation. At its core, the piece is intended to bring people together and foster a shared sense of community.

Elstad Auditorium Murals

Laural Hartman

About the artist:

Laural Hartman is a California-born artist and printer based in Rochester New York. Laural, who has been deaf since birth, is known for her using pictures of landscapes and maps as a starting point and then she connect and channel her own direct, emotion and intuitive responses to a specific journey in her life until it becomes completely distorted.

About the murals:

The artist was commissioned to create two murals for the 2025 Deaf Way Film Festival. The first mural consists of four panels affixed to the columns of Elstad Auditorium. The color palette draws directly from Deaf Way Film Festival branding and features imagery of Gallaudet University buildings, an aerial view of the campus, and symbols associated with theatre and performance. Cherry blossoms—Washington, DC’s official flower—are woven throughout the composition, grounding the mural in its local context.

The second mural comprises two panels installed in the lobby of Elstad Auditorium. Rendered in green and magenta, the panels are paired thematically: one represents Washington, DC, while the other represents Gallaudet University, visually linking the city and the campus through color, symbolism, and placement.

Chapel Hall

Land Acknowledgement Mural

This mural is a land acknowledgment, focusing on the native hand signs for Piscataway and Nacotchtank, the peoples on whose land Gallaudet University resides.

Hanson Plaza Cafeteria

Chuck Baird

Chuck Baird (1947–2012) was a Deaf artist, actor, and activist, and one of the founders of the De’VIA (Deaf View/Image Art) movement. His artwork celebrates Deaf culture, American Sign Language, and Deaf identity. Through painting, performance, and storytelling, Baird used art to share Deaf experiences and promote pride, connection, and visibility within the Deaf community.

About the mural

This five-paneled mural was created by Deaf artist Chuck Baird for the Deaf Way I Festival in 1989. The mural shows the lives and experiences of Deaf people around the world—past, present, and future. It is painted with acrylic on panels.

One of the most well-known images in the mural shows a Deaf adult signing with a Deaf child: “You Deaf, me Deaf, same.” This moment shows connection, pride, and belonging through shared language and culture. The artist invites you to think about what this mural means to you and how Deaf people connect across generations.

Hanson Plaza Cafeteria Student Murals 2017
Led by Tracey Salaway

Ocean Pollution Theme:
Selene Alvarez
Kah Mendoza
Mel Williams
Dylan ??? (Bread lady)

Kari Bingham
Rosalyn Watson (??)
Kaori Vazquez
Mimi J?
Adele Daniels
Connor Baer