As students pass through Ewha’s main gate every morning to enter the campus, when they look to their left, a giant screen-like placard installed on the gray marble wall. It is the Art Wall of Ewha.
When the front gates of Ewha were near completion in, 2008, the gray marble wall was left vast and empty. The Art Wall was the Office of Communication’s way to get rid of this emptiness.
“It all started with the office’s idea of posting up large advertisements of Ewha,” said Professor Kim Yung-wook (Communications), the Associate Vice President for the Office of Communications who is in charge of creating the Art Walls.
The Art Wall says many things. In 2008, when it first appeared with the completion of the front gate, it conveyed the message, “Ewha’s heart beats because of you.” Since then a total of five Art Walls have been installed and replaced in the same place.
Last year, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Mary F. Scranton’s death, the Art Wall displayed her portrait along with the famous quote, “To teach Koreans to become better Koreans.”
With the start of a new semester, the Art Wall now bears the image of two tightly held hands. One of the hands is wearing a graduation ring. The message reads, “Anywhere, anytime, we are Ewha.”
"The Art Wall is designed to convey a message of community and sense of pride to Ewha students,” said Kim.
There is no specific term of validity for an Art Wall design. But Kim added, “every time the school has a special event or an affair, the Art Wall tends to change its purpose related to that event.”
The overall time that takes to create an Art Wall piece is about a month. The process includes the planning session, the design, an adjustment procedure, and then confirmation.
All members of the Office of Communications take part in the planning and production of the Art Wall. President Lee Bae-yong participates in the process, too.
“In fact, many parts of most of the pieces have been retouched at the President’s request,” said Kim.
Students can also be a part of the Art Wall. The models that appear on the Wall are students selected by the Office of Communications.
“We use well-known Ewha graduates as models, as well as, students who are members of the Ewha Campus Leader or those who are suggested by professors,” said Kim.
“The Office of Communications and I hope to cultivate a sense of community and love among Ewha students through the Art Wall.”