LARAMIE INTERFAITH PUBLIC MURAL BRIGHT STRENGTH
Alces Community Works brings artwork directly to the people, embedding creative expression in the everyday spaces where community life unfolds. In partnership with Laramie Interfaith, Alces commissioned artist Rhiannon Jakopak to create Bright Strength, a site-specific mural for the organization’s lobby —an environment where care, resource-sharing, and mutual support are practiced daily. Jakopak’s work centers our connections to the natural world and to one another, drawing inspiration from ecology, natural history, and the vibrant plant and animal life of the American West. Her creative practice is rooted in joy, discovery, and experimentation, weaving together printmaking, painting, hand-stitching, and illustration in bold, expressive forms. By bringing this artwork into a public-facing space, Alces supports art as a communal resource—something that can uplift, calm, and inspire all who pass through.
ABOUT THE ARTWORK
Bright Strength features lanceleaf stonecrop, a plant that embodies resilience in the Laramie basin. Fine roots anchor this small plant in sandy, shallow soils. Their bright flowers dot hillsides even during a drought, holding up to wind gusts or intense sunlight. This mural, located in the Laramie Interfaith lobby, highlights connection and resilience in our communities.
ABOUT THE ARTIST RHIANNON JAKOPAK
Rhiannon Jakopak's art centers our connection with the natural world and with each other. Her work is inspired by ecology and natural history, and almost always features the plants and animals of the American West. Her artistic practice is rooted in joy and discovery, and she aims to share this energy with the viewer by incorporating bold, bright colors and expressive shapes in her work. She is drawn to trying new techniques and styles, but returns to printmaking, hand stitching, painting, and illustration, often holding minimalism and maximalism together in a single piece. She is on social media @rhiacoon or at rpjakopak.com
Thank you to Laramie Interfaith, and their operations manager Sarah Teter
