Thornlea high school students trying to save murals

A group of Thornhill students is trying to save student murals, artwork dating back to the 1980s that brighten the hallways of Thornlea Secondary School.

Principal Sheri Epstein told CityNews that a number of students had approached her in recent years, asking to replace the 35-40 murals of Pink Floyd, John Lennon, etc., with new ones that would better reflect the school’s diversity.

And it was decided that “we would paint them over with a fresh coat of paint,” and “students could then create new murals,” she said.

However, it didn’t sit well with some students who have started an  online petition to save them.

“They are the first thing that students see when they walk in, and the last thing they see before they leave,” the petition said.

Josh Hanff, who graduated from Thornlea in 2005, wrote “the murals were the only things that kept me sane in a depressingly built school with no windows. They are a part of the history of the school and its students, and there is no reason to paint over them with so many walls that are still empty.”

Ellen Bleiwas, who painted one of the murals when she was a Thornlea student, said the murals are a “vital part of the culture and character of the school.”

“I hope future students continue to have the opportunity to paint, and existing murals remain,” she wrote on the petition. “It would be a regrettable shame to needlessly wipe out this rich aspect of Thornlea’s history and visual texture.”

So far the petition has garnered 609 signatures and the online campaign appears to be working.

Epstein said that all the murals have been photographed for a school book and that some of them would be turned into posters that would be framed and hung on Thornlea walls.

The petition said that the administration is listening and is letting students and staff vote for their favourite murals, which would be saved.

“This is a compromise of sorts,” the petition said. “We’re not 100% content with murals being lost, but some removal is better than total removal of our beautiful student art.”

“Whatever is most popular we will keep them,” Epstein said. But she declined to say how many would be saved.

The vote is slated for Tuesday, and results will be disclosed June 26, she said.