A roughly 20-by-8-foot piece of art within Poughkeepsie High School serves as a decoration, a celebration and an imperative.

Poughkeepsie Art Club students, under the direction of artist Joe Pimentel and Art Department Chairperson Heather Duncan-Carter, recently completed a new mural covering the wall leading to Duncan-Carter’s classroom, down the hall from the cafeteria.

The piece features a collage of famous works of art inside the letters of a word – “CREATE” – against a bold navy backdrop.

The message is fitting for the art wing and adds to a growing collection of murals created through working with Pimentel over the last six years.

“Students should be surrounded by beauty and know to create it around them,” Duncan-Carter said. “That’s how they feel whenever they walk into the art wing – that they’re worth it.”

Students each day walk through the art wing to reach the cafeteria or other spaces like the senior lounge, the AFJROTC room, or the Marist Liberty Partnerships Program office.

The project was made possible through a donation from Hudson Valley Tattoo Company to hire Pimentel. Before beginning a mural, the artist and the art chair decide what the theme will be and how it will fit together with the existing murals. Then, they listen to the students’ input.

The art club members suggested the pieces of art featured within the mural, such as Andy Warhol’s Marilyn Monroe, Vincent van Gogh’s The Starry Night, and Rene Magritte’s The Son of Man. Pimentel organized them all into a cohesive design and projected it against the wall for the students to execute.

Duncan-Carter called Pimentel “a fabulous artist who patiently works with them,” noting he premixes the paints to expedite the process. This mural was completed in five days of painting. “You can’t bang out one of these without someone like him.”

Ninth grade student Eztli Martinez said she enjoyed communicating with her fellow artists to create the mural.  “I met new people and it also gave me a feeling of peace,” she said. “I loved working on it and Joe made the experience so much better.”

Senior Nataeya Lane called the experience “calming. … I love the different colors, as well.”

Art students at the school frequently create projects. Duncan-Carter, though, pointed out it’s not often a student has an opportunity to get outside the art room to work on something of a mural’s scale, alongside a professional.

“They see this incredibly large piece completed right before their eyes and they love it,” she said. “They can’t believe this thing was created.”