Lehman Center for the Performing Arts to Unveil Student Mural

Lehman Center for the Performing Arts will unveil a new student mural on Thursday, October 29, 2026 at 6pm inthe main lobby of Lehman Center for the Performing Arts, 250 Bedford Park Blvd West, Bronx, New York 10468. The evening will include a Halloween-themed cocktail party, with small bites and refreshments on offer.

In the spring of 2026, Lehman College Art Department professors and alumni Eric Ramirez (Design) and Ruth Rodriguez (Printmaking) led a collaborative project to develop a large-scale mural for the Lehman Center for the Performing Arts (LCPA).

Building on the collaborative model established in Year One, students explored printmaking techniques including CMYK separations, typography and identity systems, site-specific design strategies, and collaborative workflows across disciplines. Through a combination of analog and digital processes, students developed multiple mural proposals designed as cohesive visual systems for architectural application.

The stunning mural was developed as part of a Lehman College class design project, further cementing the department's standing as an incubator for the next generation of design talent and expanding its creative footprint across Lehman's campus. The mural stretches across the lobby wall with loose, energetic linework that gives every figure a sense of rhythm and movement, from the exaggerated fingers on the piano keys to the sinuous s-shape of the saxophone. The intense energy of the mural alerts the Center's visitors to the magical excitement of the live performances to be seen on stage, just beyond the lobby doors. The palette chosen by the students, in consultation with Center staff, leans heavily on primary colors that pop. Background film reel details, theater lights, and musical instruments round out the composition, connecting the mural to the performing arts center's wide mix of music, theater, and film programming.

This project is generously supported by the Sara Little Turnbull Foundation, whose recurring gifts totaling more than $250,000 have helped transform Lehman's design curriculum through scholarships, fellowships, cross-curricular coursework, and the Sara Little Turnbull Visiting Designer Speaker Series. Lehman Center for the Performing Arts has also provided funding support.

Since 2019, this partnership has brought new voices in design to the Bronx while supporting the next generation of creative talent at Lehman.

This mural project continues that legacy, expanding the creative footprint of the Art Department across campus and bringing student design work into Lehman's public spaces.

The Sara Little Turnbull Foundation carries forward the vision of Sara Little Turnbull (1917-2015), a trailblazing designer and design consultant who moved fluidly at the intersection of design, culture, commerce, and education throughout the second half of the twentieth century, and who described her own singular practice as "applied cultural anthropology.'

Formally established as a trust in 2015 and launched in 2018, the Foundation exists to further the advancement of underrepresented youth in design education and women in the professional communities of design practice and leadership, while promoting public awareness of design where business, culture, and education converge. Since 2019, this partnership with Lehman has enabled the Art Department to introduce new scholarships, design fellowships, and cross-curricular coursework that challenge traditional notions of design pedagogy, while the accompanying Sara Little Turnbull Visiting Designer Speaker Series, organized in collaboration with the Art Gallery, has drawn an extraordinary constellation of voices to the Bronx. Most recently, the Foundation's support has extended into exciting new territory with the funding of exhibitions and a permanent mural for the Lehman Center for the Performing Arts.

Since its founding in 1980, Lehman Center for the Performing Arts has been deeply rooted in the cultural life of the Bronx. As the only theater of its size in the borough, with a capacity of more than 2,200 seats, Lehman Center provides Bronx residents with local, affordable access to high-quality live performances that entertain, educate, inspire, and celebrate the traditions of a multi-cultural community. In its 46-year tenure, The Center has been committed to bringing both local and national attention to historically underrepresented groups in the performing arts, such acts as Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald in the 80s and 90s, to the Janelle Monae Super Bowl halftime show in 2011. Lehman Center serves the artistic needs of the community through four distinct programming series: 'Punchline,' 'First Curtain,' 'Bronx Music,' and 'The Discovery Series,' with specific focus on youth programming, comedy, the musical heritage of the Bronx, and exposure to wider global cultures. These longstanding traditions underscore Lehman Center's historic role as one of the Bronx's most important cultural institutions, dedicated to preserving and uplifting diverse artistic heritage for all.