photo by: City of Lawrence screenshot

An artist rending from Solomon Souza for a new mural that will feature on KU's new Chabad Center.

A colorful mural inspired by Kansas and Jewish themes will adorn the new facility that will house KU’s Chabad Center.

City Commissioners approved a request Tuesday night from the Chabad Center to allow the mural on its new two-story facility at 1203 W. 19th St. near the University of Kansas campus. The mural will be located on the front of the building near the entrance, and the request said it was intended “to be a vibrant and inspiring work of art.”

The design of the mural features traditional Jewish symbols like the Torah, challah bread, a dreidel and Hebrew lettering flowing out of a central message that says “Be The Light.” Surrounding those symbols are Kansas-inspired images like colorful sunflowers and wheat. According to a packet in the City Commission’s meeting agenda with details about the mural, its design will celebrate the theme of “Spreading Light through Acts of Goodness and Kindness.”

The mural will be painted by Solomon Souza, who has painted murals across the world, including in India, Australia, Israel and the United States.

The mural was unanimously approved by the city’s Cultural Arts Commission in June. Rabbi Zalman Tiechtel, co-director of the Chabad Center, said during that meeting that although Souza’s murals often feature portraits, the Chabad Center’s goal for the mural was to be “open and embracing” and not feature just one face.

“We want the mural to be something which everyone can connect with and find themselves in,” Tiechtel said.

The mural will also be centered around a plaza area where people can easily interact with it and allow for a “photo-op element” that will make it a “visual landmark and a meaningful expression of Jewish pride, identity, and positivity.”

With the approval of the mural, the center said it hoped the artist could begin work on the project later this month so that it would be ready by the fall semester. That would align with the hope to open the new $5 million building for the center later this year.

Tiechtel said he is excited to add even more public art to the city, which already has so many “beautiful” pieces of art. Other murals in Lawrence celebrate different cultures in the city, but Tiechtel noted this is the first mural in Lawrence with a Jewish motif.

“This brings a special flavor and joy to our community,” Tiechtel said.

photo by: Bremen Keasey

Construction underway at the new building that will house the University of Kansas’s Chabad Center. The City Commission approved Tuesday night the installation of a mural on the wall on the right side of the photo that will feature Kansan and Jewish motifs together.