In downtown Columbia, artwork lights up the night sky at the intersection of Cherry and Ninth Streets. Student-run creative agency Relevant Youth projected a graphic depicting iconic Columbia symbols such as The Columns on the side of a building. The event took place over two weekends to promote creative expression and unity.

Relevant Youth offers real-world creative agency experience to MU students of all majors. Head of public relations Lily Williams said that as long as you have a passion for design and creativity, there is a place for you at Relevant Youth.

Their latest projection event was born out of a desire to connect MU’s campus to the City of Columbia.

“We were trying to think of how we could stay true to our own values and missions but also do something that says thank you to the Columbia community and focuses on uniting the area,” Williams said.

Leading up to the event, Relevant Youth projected an animated loading graphic where the event would take place. The goal was to make people stop and wonder what the graphic meant and create anticipation for the event.

“We really wanted to generate a lot of natural conversation and natural curiosity,” Katrina Troy, head of internal strategy, said.

Lila Tulp, one of the artists whose artwork was projected, felt challenged to step outside of her comfort zone to produce a graphic that encapsulated unity within the Columbia community.

“When the people in charge of this event reached out to me, I had no idea how to design ‘unity,’” Tulp said. “It’s such an abstract concept that has so many different meanings, I didn’t really know where to start.”

Not only did the event serve as a tribute to Columbia, but members said it resulted in a newfound collaboration between Relevant Youth and the City of Columbia. Small details leading up to the event had to be thought out and planned with the city.

“I hope that Columbia just has a better sense of the talent that we have in this city, but we also show that we can really unite together and organize this big project where everyone can walk by and be a part of it,” Williams said.

To stay informed on future Relevant Youth events you can follow them on Instagram @therelevantyouth.

Edited by Angelina Edwards | aedwards@themaneater.com