After a year of planning and execution, Roxboro Community School proudly unveiled their newest mural on May 1, 2025. In collaboration with the Kirby Arts Council and Cultural Complex, RCS worked with Dr. Debi Drew to bring this mural to life.
Guest artist Drew worked with RCS art students throughout the second semester to incorporate their ideas into the mural. Art students in the Art I-IV classes, as well as seventh and eighth grade students, got to make their mark on the mural in three painting sessions. Trestney Moore, Cultural Arts Program Specialist for the Kirby Cultural Arts Complex said that after putting the students concepts into a cohesive design and getting approved by the city and Managing Executive Director, Darkarai Bryant, Drew moved the design to panels, and painted the mural with art students, art teacher Anne Bettendorf, Harley Westbrooks, and Moore.
This collaboration was a positive experience for all involved. Bettendorf said that it was the highlight of her school year. “I believe it [was] memorable for the students as well,” Bettendorf said. Moore added, “everyone was a pleasure to work with and I hope they had as much fun as we did working on this project.”
This is the third public art project from the Kirby Cultural Arts Complex with local schools. “It is the mission of the Person County Arts Council as well as the Kirby to enhance and elevate the arts in education as well as making art accessible to everyone in the community,” Moore said. “These projects offer an opportunity to do both those. The arts are something that connect us all across time, space, and even unseen barriers.
One of the 80 plus art students involved in the mural, junior Skylar Shotwell, said that project was exhausting, but rewarding in the end. “The most challenging part of the mural was working around and collaborating with everyone’s creative differences,” Shotwell said. “This taught me how to collaborate with a big group instead of two or three people.”