Hillman Library’s ground floor looks a lot livelier than last year, according to students.
That’s because the ground floor has a new art installation that was added over the summer titled “I am made to leave I am made to return,” which is composed of four interconnected artworks. Pitt students are enjoying the additions, comparing the newly meaningful space to what they described as last year’s “sterile” look.
The installation features intricate patterns that wrap around the floor’s white columns, a large-scale watercolor print of a Rio de Janeiro classroom and poems written on the staircase with an archival-box sculpture underneath. It draws inspiration from the Nationality Rooms and University Library System Archives and Special Collections.
Artists Susy Bielak, Fred Schmalz and Aaron Henderson created the installation and incorporated “speculative reflections on nationality, heritage, migration and belonging,” according to the project’s website. Bielak, a Chicago-based artist, used her upbringing as inspiration, having been born in Mexico City and growing up in Pittsburgh.
“The project is really meant to invite the richness and complexity of what it is to have relationships to different places,” Bielak said.
Bielak said the installation’s exploration of leaving and returning also extends beyond physical migration.
“Understanding that we have to seek difference, we have to have different encounters to be able to have a more expansive perspective that [requires us] leave what might be a more comfortable position or known position to then encounter something else,” Bielak said.
Keila Grinberg, a history professor at Pitt, said the painting of the classroom is based on her memories and conversations with the artist, and that it was the most meaningful part of the project for her. The painting, called “Keila’s Speculative Nationality Room,” is a watercolor print of a classroom in Rio de Janeiro. She said the print “perfectly captures the special places of comfort where I grew up.”
“I grew up playing soccer, going to the beach, reading, writing, listening to music and dreaming of seeing the world,” Grinberg said.
On the classroom’s chalkboard, Brazilian educator Paulo Freire’s mantra, “Education is an act of love, therefore an act of courage,” is written in Grinberg’s handwriting.
“[The mantra] shows that my ideal classroom is exactly as Susy painted it,” Grinberg said.
Rachel Kelly, a sophomore marketing major, particularly admires the new Rio de Janeiro painting. Her roommate, who is Brazilian, told her she was very excited to see the mural because she believes there’s not much Brazilian representation at Pitt. The roommate pointed to the fact that there is no Brazilian nationality room in the Cathedral of Learning.
“I think it’s great to see more representation,” Kelly said.
The addition of new art follows ground floor renovations to the library that began in 2017 and finished in May 2026. The project started as an infrastructure maintenance plan, but later became a $130 million project to redesign the building.
Sarolta Stewart, a sophomore civil engineering major, believes the space is “less sterile than last year.”
“I definitely think it’s better in comparison to last year just because last year [it] lacked color, and a lot of people said it was like a bit of a sterile environment,” Stewart said. “This just adds something fun to look at and definitely lightens the mood in the building.”
Junior bioengineering major Brianna Gutierrez said she feels it brightens up what she described as the previously “lifeless” space.
“I think it brings more liveliness to the building, especially with the fluorescent lights,” Gutierrez said.
Ella Schrader, a sophomore psychology major, believes the space is immensely better compared to last year.
“It makes me feel like whenever I’m in there, I’m not just doing work; I’m actually experiencing Pitt because it’s so pretty inside,” Schrader said. “I really love the murals, and especially because it makes it way more interesting to be in there.”
Mia Kezengwa, a junior natural sciences major, said she thinks the art makes the ground floor look “100% better” than last year and specifically likes the colorful pillars.
“I feel like it really added to the library. Before, it was giving sterile psych hospital,” Kezengwa said. “This made it a lot cozier. It makes me want to sit and do work.”
Natalija Gligorevic, a junior business analytics and English literature major, said she has seen Hillman “through all phases” and believes this year looks the best. She thinks that during midterms and finals last year, there was more space to study than in her first year.
“But this year, it feels a little more homey,” Gligorevic said. “I know they did a little bit of renovation, just like a personal-style renovation on the ground floor, and I really like it.”
Students can see the art until July 2027, when the installation will be removed.