The mural in the new Undergraduate Academic Building in the heart of campus pays tribute to 41 women and the ways their contributions have echoed through time.
From university founders and a renowned football coach to its 23 bear statues, UC Berkeley’s history has long been displayed through campus art. But one key demographic has been woefully underrepresented in the collection: women.
Until now.
A vibrant new painting visible in the soon-to-open Undergraduate Academic Building next to Dwinelle Hall features 41 prominent women spanning 150 years of Berkeley ties. They run the gamut from 19th-century icons like famed architect Julia Morgan to contemporary biochemist and Nobel laureate Jennifer Doudna. Their individual portraits punctuate a wall of yellow and purple-blue hues, meant to symbolize the ripple of water and how their contributions from sport to science also transcend time.
“It was important to have representation from different eras and different groups,” said Oliver O’Reilly, Berkeley’s vice provost for undergraduate education and a co-leader, with Sharon Inkelas, on the latest art installation. Passersby will be able to scan a QR code on an adjacent plaque, which will send them to a new website with annotations and biographies for each woman.
“My hope is that when people see the mural, they will see someone who inspires them,” O’Reilly said. “They’ll be curious about who these people are. And they’ll go and explore. I really hope it’s a source of inspiration, more than anything else.”