Alumna Paints Mural at St. Stan's

Lizzi Gallagher, a St. Stan's graduate and School of Visual Arts senior, designed and painted a school mural celebrating its academic and extracurricular life.

Updated on Nov. 3, 2026 in Painting

Gouache-painted editorial illustration of a tall bookcase of uniform warm-colored book blocks with abstract brush shapes on one shelf, evoking a school's academic life. — Lizzi Gallagher, a St. Stan's graduate and School of Visual Arts senior, painted a mural celebrating the New York school's academics, performing arts, clubs and sports. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

Lizzi Gallagher, a 20-year-old St. Stan's graduate, designed and painted a mural at her alma mater. The mural features a bookcase highlighting the subjects taught at the school along with its extracurricular activities.

Why it matters

The commission gives a former student a lasting public role in the school's visual identity, linking a recent graduate to the community she came from. It also shows how a local school can draw on its own alumni to showcase student life.

Gallagher graduated from St. Stan's in 2019 and designed sets for the school's performing arts players as a student. The source does not give the mural's cost or completion date.

The players

St. Stan's

St. Stan's is a Maspeth, Queens Catholic high school that serves as the site of the mural and Gallagher's alma mater.

Lizzi Gallagher

Lizzi Gallagher is a visual artist and senior at the School of Visual Arts who designed and painted the mural.

The details

Principal Cathy Mangone selected Gallagher, a senior at Manhattan's School of Visual Arts pursuing a bachelor's degree in fine arts in design, to create the artwork. The mural references the performing arts players, the Aquinas club, and a sports association.

2019: Gallagher graduates from St. Stan's.
November 3, 2026: Article about the mural is published.

Culture Shift

The commission follows a tradition in New York City schools of turning hallways into showcases for student life and alumni talent. It reflects a broader practice of schools investing in visual identity that reflects their own communities.

New York City students and families at St. Stan's will see the mural in daily school life. Local readers interested in school art projects can look to this example of alumni-led community commissions.

The takeaway

Schools can strengthen their identity by commissioning former students, giving alumni a visible way to stay connected to the community that shaped them.