High school students’ art on full display in county office

APTOS, Calif. (KION) Lytrell Francis was given an assignment in his high school art class.

"It was to find something meaningful to you and then incorporate it into a map of your choosing," Francis said.

In less than two weeks, he came up with a piece.

“I chose Harriet Tubman because she helped set a lot of people free from slavery and stuff like that," Francis said. "And then I chose to do it on a map of West Virginia because it meant a lot to her as well.”

So he decided to include that imagery in the school assignment he submitted for a program with the county. And even though Francis has never been to West Virginia, he felt inspired by Tubman's legacy. He said he's learned a lot from it.

“Just live life free of mind and taking new ideas,” Francis said.

“I’ve found that students tend to make things more personal because it’s more meaningful and that creates more of an impact,” Aptos High School art teacher Veronique Marks said.

So now Francis's work is hanging in the new Aptos Village Public Safety Center.

“It made me feel, like, really special inside,” Francis said.

It's hanging there because the Santa Cruz County District Supervisor, Zach Friend, thought it would make a nice addition to his office.

“To take an old map, to show the division between West Virginia and Virginia, to incorporate slavery, to incorporate Harriet Tubman, to incorporate the relationship of that history, I think is a powerful thing to have in a public office,” Friend said.

And while Lytrell’s piece hangs in that office, other students’ work lines the hallway.

“It was really an honor having my picture put up there because it’s always a place for me to kind of calm down,” Aptos High School student Ian McGuckin said. “And so I hope my picture can kind of do the same for other people.”

“When we hold community meetings in this space, people always pause to look at the pictures,” Friend said. “It brings joy to people to see local, beautiful pictures.”