Hillman Library\u2019s ground floor looks a lot livelier than last year, according to students.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s because the ground floor has a new art installation that was added over the summer titled \u201cI am made to leave I am made to return,\u201d 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\u2019s \u201csterile\u201d look.<\/p>\n
The installation features intricate patterns that wrap around the floor\u2019s 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Artists Susy Bielak, Fred Schmalz and Aaron Henderson created the installation and incorporated \u201cspeculative reflections on nationality, heritage, migration and belonging,\u201d according to the project\u2019s website<\/a>. Bielak, a Chicago-based artist, used her upbringing as inspiration, having been born in Mexico City and growing up in Pittsburgh.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe project is really meant to invite the richness and complexity of what it is to have relationships to different places,\u201d Bielak said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Bielak said the installation\u2019s exploration of leaving and returning also extends beyond physical migration.<\/p>\n \u201cUnderstanding 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,\u201d Bielak said.<\/p>\n 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 \u201cKeila\u2019s Speculative Nationality Room,\u201d is a watercolor print of a classroom in Rio de Janeiro. She said the print \u201cperfectly captures the special places of comfort where I grew up.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI grew up playing soccer, going to the beach, reading, writing, listening to music and dreaming of seeing the world,\u201d Grinberg said.\u00a0<\/p>\n On the classroom\u2019s chalkboard, Brazilian educator Paulo Freire\u2019s mantra<\/a>, \u201cEducation is an act of love, therefore an act of courage,\u201d is written in Grinberg\u2019s handwriting.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201c[The mantra] shows that my ideal classroom is exactly as Susy painted it,\u201d Grinberg said.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s not much Brazilian representation at Pitt. The roommate pointed to the fact that there is no Brazilian nationality room in the Cathedral of Learning.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s great to see more representation,\u201d Kelly said.\u00a0<\/p>\n The addition of new art follows ground floor renovations to the library that began in 2017<\/a> and finished in May 2026<\/a>. The project started as an infrastructure maintenance plan, but later became a $130 million project to redesign the building.\u00a0<\/p>\n Sarolta Stewart, a sophomore civil engineering major, believes the space is \u201cless sterile than last year.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI definitely think it\u2019s 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,\u201d Stewart said. \u201cThis just adds something fun to look at and definitely lightens the mood in the building.\u201d<\/p>\n Junior bioengineering major Brianna Gutierrez said she feels it brightens up what she described as the previously \u201clifeless\u201d space.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it brings more liveliness to the building, especially with the fluorescent lights,\u201d Gutierrez said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Ella Schrader, a sophomore psychology major, believes the space is immensely better compared to last year.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt makes me feel like whenever I\u2019m in there, I\u2019m not just doing work; I\u2019m actually experiencing Pitt because it\u2019s so pretty inside,\u201d Schrader said. \u201cI really love the murals, and especially because it makes it way more interesting to be in there.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Mia Kezengwa, a junior natural sciences major, said she thinks the art makes the ground floor look \u201c100% better\u201d than last year and specifically likes the colorful pillars.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel like it really added to the library. Before, it was giving sterile psych hospital,\u201d Kezengwa said. \u201cThis made it a lot cozier. It makes me want to sit and do work.\u201d<\/p>\n Natalija Gligorevic, a junior business analytics and English literature major, said she has seen Hillman \u201cthrough all phases\u201d 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.<\/p>\n \u201cBut this year, it feels a little more homey,\u201d Gligorevic said. \u201cI know they did a little bit of renovation, just like a personal-style renovation on the ground floor, and I really like it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n