VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — Three local college students have created temporary murals in the ViBe Creative District themed around the idea of “Building A Better Community.”

The nonprofit selected the students based on concept designs they submitted that included the words “Building A Better Community” and referenced projects currently underway in the district.

“When people drive through the district right now, they see a lot of road debris, orange cones and heavy machinery, which can be off-putting,” said ViBe executive director Kate Pittman in a press release. “We want to remind them that they are also seeing significant progress as we work with the City of Virginia Beach to build a dynamic, cultural neighborhood.” 

The selected artists are Olivia Hudson (student at Tidewater Community College), Janna Goliff (Virginia Beach native who attends the University of Pennsylvania and Ja’Lisa Yates (graduate of Virginia Wesleyan).

Their murals can be seen on Cypress Avenue near 17th Street, on 17th Street in front of the Virginia Beach Oceanfront Library and on Arctic Avenue near 19th Street next to the Hampton Roads Transit Bus Stop.

The student artists were mentored by local artist Victoria Weiss while creating their murals.

Weiss has created murals in the ViBe District, Norfolk’s NEON District and was one of the featured artists during the Something in the Water 2019 Art Walk.

Each student was paid $500 and given supplies to paint their 8-foot-by-12-foot mural.