Mural Artist Moira (Miri) Villard Visits LEAP
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LEAP High School art students created a site-specific mural with multidisciplinary artist Moira Villiard and teacher Darby Laing. This vibrant installation represents the journey of life and learning at LEAP. Moira is of a mixed Indigenous and settler cultural heritage.
She collaborated with students to conceptualize the importance of culture and community in the learning journey. Paper airplanes carry students aloft, inscribed with both literal and figurative messages of encouragement and hope of learning in multiple languages. The visual narrative culminates in the iconography of a bridge and a tree—symbols representing transition, personal growth, and the space between who the students are and who they are becoming.
The artwork is framed by flags representing the 40+ home countries of LEAP’s students and staff, alongside the 11 seals of Native American tribal nations of Minnesota. Congrats to Moira on her own journey and 2026 graduation from the Humphrey Institute of Public Policy.