18th Alley Art Project: Public Ribbon Cutting and Celebration

Location: Southeast Steuben County Library

Free and open to the public | No registration required
Location: Southeast Steuben County Library, 300 Nasser Civic Center Plaza Suite 101, Corning, NY 14830 

Refreshments will be served 

Join us in celebrating the 18th mural of the Alley Art Project with artist Devan Shimoyama! This 50th anniversary Rockwell Museum mural highlights how students are actively engaged in telling stories from their own perspectives and amplifying voices that might otherwise be overlooked. By incorporating personal experiences and symbolism into the collaborative mural, the project reframes viewpoints and invites viewers to see familiar themes in fresh, meaningful ways. Witness the unveiling of the mural, meet the student artists and designers, and check out the latest mural up close. 

The Rockwell Museum, in collaboration with the High School Learning Center (HSLC) of the Corning-Painted Post Area School District and the Southeast Steuben County Library (SSCL) worked with artist Devan Shimoyama to design the latest Alley Art Project mural. The 2026 mural celebrates and uplifts individuals who have meaningfully influenced students’ lives. Inspired by Shimoyama’s work in the Museum’ Permanent Collection–February (2022) hoodie and Le Mat (The Fool) (2022) self-portrait–the mural features a vibrant wave of symbolic flowers, representing the people students are honoring.  

The 2026 Alley Art Project is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, The Triangle Fund, and the Community Foundation of Elmira-Corning and the Finger Lakes, Inc. 

About Artist Devan Shimoyama   

Devan Shimoyama is a visual artist based in Pittsburgh, PA. He graduated from Penn State University in 2011 with a BFA in Drawing/Painting. He received his MFA from Yale University School of Art in Painting/Printmaking in 2014. Shimoyama’s work has been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions throughout the United States. His solo exhibition Cry, Baby was presented at the Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh, in 2018. Other major recent exhibitions include When We See Us, Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa, Cape Town, South Africa; Oh, Gods of Dust and Rainbows, at FRONT International Cleveland Triennial for Contemporary Art, Cleveland, OH, USA; Tell Me, at CAC Malaga, Malaga, Spain; and All the Rage, at Kunstpalais, Erlangen, Germany. 

About the Alley Art Project 

The Alley Art Project is a unique educational mural program designed to connect local students to both The Rockwell collection and their community at large. The Rockwelll has partnered with the Corning-Painted Post High School Learning Center (HSLC) since the program’s inception in 2010, working with youth to beautify public spaces. The program has included many youth organizations during its lifespan, including the Laura Richardson Houghton Corning Youth Center (2012), and more recently SUNY Corning Community College (2022, 2024). The Alley Art Project embraces start-to-finish, project-based learning initiatives with the idea that public art has the power to bring people together, encourage conversation, and ignite the imagination. 

Each mural project is inspired by art in The Rockwell’s collection and invites students to meaningfully contribute to the community’s visual landscape. Guided by professional artists and educators, students engage in the creative process through critical inquiry and personal connections to the project’s themes and selected works. This holistic program encourages art exploration and self-expression, fostering safe dialogue, and developing a stronger sense of self.