A Mobile artist has left a lasting mark at Clark-Shaw Magnet School with a mural celebrating 200 years of Alabama history.
Bobby “BJ” Jiles painted the work on the wall of one of the school’s entrances over seven days while students were on Christmas break. Clark-Shaw was among 200 schools selected as bicentennial schools after submitting grants and proposals, a designation that brought projects for students to mark Alabama’s 200th anniversary. The mural was one of those efforts.
Jiles said he was honored to take on the project, and he had a personal connection to the school. Miranda Manley, who is helping coordinate the bicentennial projects at Clark-Shaw, was his sixth-grade teacher at Palmer Pillans Middle School and gave him his first art set. She asked Jiles to paint the mural.
The artwork depicts familiar chapters of Alabama history, from the USS Alabama battleship and Mardi Gras in Mobile to the space industry in Huntsville. It is now a permanent display at the magnet school.