The Phoenix Rises

The San Nicolas Stairwell Project

Several years ago a pilot project was proposed by the University of California Office of the President (UCOP) to encourage stairwell use for exercise and energy reduction amongst the UC campuses. Ginnie Thomas (Residential Operations) was on the cross-campus committee to develop ideas for several UCSB stairwells. With money available from UCOP, artwork and plants were used in several high rises across campus to lure staff and students to the stairwells instead of using the elevators. San Nicolas was one of the buildings considered but we ─ the HDAE Arts & Culture Committee ─ wanted to develop our own design(s) for the space. The MarCom team met with Ginnie, Mark Rousseau, several students, and Jay Rice (Resident Director of San Nicolas) and put a plan together. Unfortunately, more pressing matters intervened and the project was put on hold.

Enter COVID. 

With the financial belt being tightened significantly we knew it was now or never. Eric Zobel designed marketing graphics for the elevator area encouraging students to use the stairs, and a first floor stairwell infographic explaining the project in visual terms. With a few student artists still on campus from the San Migolas Stage project we accelerated efforts to get artwork on some of the upper floors. The original plan was to wrap the elevators, but after learning that they were slated for repair work in a few months we used the wallpapered spaces surrounding the elevators as our canvas. Funky phoenixes and lettering adorn the walls, and bird footprints and splats continue the effect down the hallway to the stair entrance.

The exciting aspect of the project is that it involves student art on the stairwell walls between floors…seven in total. All of the artists who submitted pieces for the San Migolas mural who weren’t chosen were asked to participate in this project… with all agreeing. We were only able to get two done during the COVID crisis…by artists Ashley Kim and Audriana Frias…and they are just finishing up their pieces as this article goes to press. With hope and a student return to campus sooner rather than later, we aspire to finish the other five walls. In successive years we’ll bring on new artists to replace a few walls each year to keep it a living/breathing museum. The kicker is with COVID restrictions and the elevator replacement project, only one person can ride at a time so the vertical art gallery may get a LOT of visitors!  ☺