Editor’s Note: A previous version of this story misstated the location of the mural. The story below has been changed to reflect accurate information. The Texan regrets this error.
Thousands of runners line up at the start line, ready to begin the 26.2-mile journey through Massachusetts. On the wall of the Hopkinton Library, a mural by UT student Faith Sycaoyao will be displayed from April 4 to 26, celebrating the 130th Boston Marathon held on April 20. The Daily Texan sat down with Sycaoyao, an international relations and global studies junior, to discuss the project.
The Daily Texan: How has this project helped you grow as an artist and a student?
Faith Sycaoyao: Honestly, it helped me a lot. It was really impactful in my career. It taught me how to think beyond just creating art. I decided to turn this partnership into a strategy to reach out to other institutions and brands. Managing a mural for this kind of event was really huge for me. When I started to reach out to other brands, it meant me balancing other deadlines, sponsorships and logistics while keeping the creative vision intact with myself. It pushed me to connect what I’m learning academically with real-world application. For example, my work in finance, research and other sustainability has helped me to understand how scale, audience reach and research resource management wouldn’t be entirely enough to grow my career. It taught me how art can be impactful to reach other spaces or other industries. Through this partnership, I got to learn that creativity can also be linked with leadership planning and other problem solving capabilities.
DT: How does it feel that so many people will have the opportunity to see your mural and interact with it?
FS: For me, it feels really humbling, and that is such a rare experience. It’s not just about attention for me, but all I know is that I created something that can be part of other people’s experiences, even just for a moment, and I’m hoping to inspire or connect with them in a small way. … The possibility that the mural can create a shared memory on such a big stage, or a big state, is really exciting.
DT: Do you have any advice that you would give current UT students, even if they’re not an artist, about putting yourself out there in those kinds of ways?
FS: When I transferred to UT last semester, I noticed that a lot of the students here are perfectionists. Don’t wait for the perfect moment to start something. If you want to build a business, just go for it. Or if you want to reach out to someone for a connection or for a job application, you should just decide to go for it. Because when I first submitted my Boston Marathon piece in December 2023, I had no idea where it would lead. I just decided to create something in a few hours and put it out there. I believe that approach applies, whether you’re an artist or not, because I believe experimenting, taking risks or building something that connects with people can really lead to a huge impact, and even just small projects can grow into large opportunities that you could never imagine. Then the lessons you learn along the way about collaboration, persistence and thinking about things on a big scale is what really matters.
