Mural unveiled for award-winning work

Yesterday, we unveiled a mural along the courtyard windows of the MFL building, dedicated to the recent award-winning work of a current Arnold Foundation student, Mariya Chechel. For those of you who haven’t had the privilege of meeting Mariya, she is a Ukrainian refugee with a remarkable embrace of the English language. Having been inspired by one of her teachers, Alix Scott-Martin, Mariya recently submitted a translation of a Ukrainian poem called Story for return by Victoria Amelina. The mural was created for us by Ukrainian artist, Myroslavia Coates.

About the poem, Mariya said, “I wanted to translate this poem in memory of Victoria. She died a few days before I finished the translation. I feel very connected to her as a writer and a person, as she was always concerned about the people who lived near the conflict line. I got to know her as an organizer of the New York Literature Festival in Ukrainian New York, where I’m from initially. After the festival, we had a lovely educational trip to Kyiv and Lviv, and a few weeks after our return, the full-scale war started. This trip was one of the most magical periods of my life. However, I had to evacuate shortly because of the full-scale war. Again. For the second time in my life, hoping that I will return soon.” There is a video interview with Mariya about her work on the Rugbeian Community Instagram channel.