Girl Scout project brings modern art to rural Ohio
Rachel Whary created the room, inspired by artist Yayoi Kusama, for her Gold Award in Girl Scouts.
GRAFTON, Ohio — In Grafton, a room in a schoolhouse on Elm Street offers a place for people to explore their inner artist and unleash their creativity.
The all-white classroom at The Historic Grafton School Art and Culture Center is known as The Obliteration Room, a space where everything, from the couches inside, down to the floor, and up to the ceiling, is covered in layers of white paint.
At the entry to the room, visitors will be greeted with sheets of colorful round stickers and the invitation to stick them wherever they please in the white room.
Creator Rachel Whary is a student at Midview High School and decided to create this space for her Girl Scout Gold Award.
“The whole room is completely white, like a canvas, and people are meant to come in and put stickers on the walls,” Whary said.
Transforming the former classroom took months of work, help from donors, and 61 gallons of white paint, Whary said.
“It took over 80 hours of work and many donors,” Whary said. “I got all the furniture here for free, and I got all the electric done for free, so everything was donated.”
The hope behind the project, according to Whary, is to spread art in more rural areas and encourage creativity.
Whary drew inspiration for the project from artist Yayoi Kusama.
While the project is not yet open to the public, she expects to open doors soon in 2023. The address of the space is 1111 Elm Street, Grafton, Ohio.
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