This past fall, 8th-grade art students at Mattoon Middle School were invited to submit artwork to decorate the walls of the new restaurant on the 6th floor of the LIFT Central Illinois building. Working on their own or with a partner, the students created large, 2D works that tried to capture the essence of LIFT–innovation, leadership, and 21st-century learning opportunities.
LIFT staff and students along with other district leaders voted for their favorite artworks, ultimately selecting eight works to be framed and displayed in the restaurant. After the artworks were installed, all of the 8th-grade art students visited LIFT to see the works and were treated to a tour of the building by LIFT students in the leadership program.
The winning artworks were created by Mason Brown, Marley Schilling, Natalie Kuhl, Piper McKay, Garrett Gossett, Daniel Rucker, Emalee Carrell, Rebekah Cline, Ella White, Hailey Andersen, Baili Denning, Alivia Hughes, and Kamryn Jean.
