Truth, beauty, freedom and love are the foundation of the Bohemian lifestyle that carries the heart of Moulin Rouge! The Musical. To celebrate and help create a vision for these values, Hennepin Theatre Trust has partnered with four local high schools. Each school was tasked with creating a visual representation of one of the Bohemian values, resulting in four pieces that illustrate our community’s interpretation of the word. The murals were conceived and completed by high school students from around the metro, and they will hang in the Orpheum for the duration of Moulin Rouge! The Musical.

Additionally, patrons who visit the Jack Link’s Legend Lounge are invited to share their own interpretations of the Bohemian values in a living art experience. Before every performance of Moulin Rouge! The Musical, audience members can respond to prompts about the people, places and things in their lives that embody truth, beauty, freedom and love. The project will evolve each day as we create our very own Bohemian paradise.

Art by students from Minnetonka High School

Art by students from Columbia Heights High School
Contributing artists: Oscar C. (he/him), Sofia C. (she/her), Yamilet C. (she/her), Hamda H. (she/her), Hanan H. (she/her), Danquyen L. (she/her), Gina L. (she/her), Simone L. (she/her), Lidya K. (she/hers), Kash K. (he/him), Lou S. (he/him), Rosie S. (she/her), Amara T. (she/her), Haley V. (she/her), Yeraldi V. (she/her), Daelen W. (he/him), Nevaeh W. (she/her)

Students from Columbia Heights High School collaborated to make this mural. The following write up comes from the mural production student leader, Simone L.:

“Beauty can be many different things but one thing that was agreed upon by the group was nature. Specifically, landscapes that portrayed peace and tranquility. Nature is regarded as one of life’s most abundant beauty and should be preserved so that many generations can experience it the same way we do. We also wanted to create a setting or backdrop appropriate for the theater. Finally, we discussed how beauty is also in the eye of the beholder; therefore, we included the vanity mirror in the middle of the piece. We wanted it to reflect performance art and the individual perception of beauty as the actors make themselves “beautiful” to take the stage.”

“Freedom in Action”

Art by students from Minnehaha Academy
Contributing artists: Tenzin Chosang (she/her), Navarre Iliff (she/her), Selas-Semira Kokayi (she/her)

“This project was one of the first times I got to collaborate with other artists, artists that helped me grow in so many different ways. When drawing or painting in my freetime, I usually don’t explore many styles of art. I constantly draw in realism, and struggle to test my limits as an artist. This piece really encouraged me to explore the talent I was born with, and allowed me to gain inspiration from my fellow artists. It was absolutely amazing seeing our creativity flow onto the canvas. Being with them, I witnessed cultures and backgrounds mixing and flowing together. The ultimate result was freedom in its purest form. There was no pressure to make things look perfect, or to make things look realistic; we just had fun, and painted things that brought us happiness. My friends and my dad really helped me with the process as well. My dad especially, he constantly helped me with suggestions and supported me to the end. If I had the opportunity to do this entire thing again, I would take that opportunity in a heartbeat.” – Tenzin Chosang

“To me, this piece is a way for me to express the thoughts in my mind that I might not always be able to give voice to, in a creative and visually pleasing way. What inspired me was the two classmates I was working with. Just being able to have two amazing artists painting and creating with me was probably the easiest way for me to open up and really get into the project. My favorite part was the planning and the idea making. Bouncing ideas back and forth about what matters to us about freedom was a really fun process, and I think that joy is apparent in our piece.” – Navarre Iliff

“Throughout the time I’ve spent working on this phenomenal project, I’ve always just awed at how grand our imagination could take shape. For me, I’ve always loved seeing the passion artists can share through their work, as it allows me to almost understand another person without having to communicate through words. With this piece I can easily do that with the two amazing artists I got to work with and I’m extremely grateful for that. For our inspiration we mainly just got together and mashed all the things that were important in our lives, really what made us ourselves. So you could say the greatest inspiration for us was the diverse cultures we ourselves were a part of or wanted to appreciate through our artwork. With that acceptance and appreciation we garnered the freedom to just be.” – Selas-Semira Kokayi

Art by students from FAIR School for Arts
Contributing artists: Lane Aguilar (he/him), Max Allebach (he/him), Kylee Brown (she/her), Amy Conwell (she/her), Myla Hannan (any pronouns), Lily Hoglund (they/them), Lily Luna (she/her)