Mount Royal Library Gets a New Mural

DULUTH, Minn.- The Mount Royal Public Library in Duluth unveiled a new mural, designed and constructed by Anishinaabe artist and Heart Berry CEO Sarah Agaton Howes.

Visually, the mural is of a Native American woman and her granddaughter, sitting together as the older woman tells her a story.

The mural, “Grandma’s Lap,” shows a bond between the family members and how family stories are passed down through generations.

Although the mural is of an Indigenous family, anyone can relate to the actions of generational storytelling in their family.

“We’re here today revealing it with the Duluth Public Library and the Public Art Commission, and it really was a response to artists around the community turning in what they would like to do in a library space,” said artist Sarah Agaton Howes. “I love the inner generational sharing of stories and the feeling of love you have when you’re sharing stories.”

To make the mural, Agaton Howes used a native style of painting known as Woodland Art. The artist used bright colors and bold lines to create a two-dimensional design in a digital format and even incorporated details on the clothing to represent the Indigenous culture.

“And it’s really important to be able to walk into a space and see yourself, but it’s also really important for people to come into spaces and see different people represented in that space, and so we are–I really want to just like normalize us being a part of public spaces,” said Agaton Howes.

The artist spent a lot of her time in the library with her children, reading stories to each other. And that connection is what helped her create the library’s new colorful mural.