Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Arts & Culture
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Arts & Culture

Jabberwocky Murals Installed in Bird Library

Saturday, August 14, 2021, By Cristina Hatem
Share
alumniarts and humanitiesCollege of Visual and Performing ArtsexhibitionNewhouse School of Public CommunicationsSyracuse University LibrariesWAER
mural of characters

Original murals from Jabberwocky were recently installed at Bird Library. The murals depict scenes from Lewis Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland” and were created by Mitchel Resnick ’76.

Visitors to the lower level of Bird Library can get a sense of what it might have been like to step into the former campus music venue Jabberwocky, which operated in the Kimmel basement from 1969-85.

Original murals from Jabberwocky were recently installed at Bird Library. The murals, which had been in private and University storage since Jabberwocky’s closing, depict scenes from Lewis Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland” and were created by Mitchel Resnick ’76 (College of Visual and Performing Arts). They were painted in the 1970s on the original walls of Jabberwocky, which were made of tectum for noise control and durability.

The original murals, which took Resnick 2½ years to paint, were 10-foot-tall panels depicting characters from “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass,” and “What Alice Found There,” which includes the nonsensical poem “Jabberwocky.”

Jabberwocky, fondly referred to as “The Jab,” was a beloved student-run musical campus and community venue, which showcased emerging and well-known local, regional and national musicians, such as Charles Mingus, The Talking Heads, James Taylor, Jackson Browne, New Riders of the Purple Sage and Cyndi Lauper.

“The Jabberwocky was clearly an iconic institution that defined a significant part of the student experience of the time,” says David Seaman, dean of Syracuse University Libraries and University Librarian. “The Alice in Wonderland murals were an inspired and fun backdrop for the many musical events that happened in Kimmel basement, and we are pleased to have them on display. I’m sure they will bring back fond memories  for alumni of the ’70s and ’80s.”

Murals will be displayed on the lower level of Bird Library through fall 2021.

Syracuse University Libraries, in collaboration with the College of Visual and Performing Arts, S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and WAER, are planning an event celebrating Jabberwocky as part of Syracuse University’s Orange Central alumni weekend on Oct. 30.

  • Author

Cristina Hatem

  • Recent
  • VPA Announces New Drama Department Chair
    Tuesday, July 1, 2025, By Erica Blust
  • Syracuse Views Summer 2025
    Tuesday, July 1, 2025, By News Staff
  • Libraries Receives Grant for Book Repair Workshop
    Monday, June 30, 2025, By Cristina Hatem
  • First-Year Law Student to First-Year Dean: Lau Combines Law and Business to Continue College of Law’s Upward Trajectory
    Thursday, June 26, 2025, By Robert Conrad
  • Student Innovations Shine at 2025 Invent@SU Presentations
    Thursday, June 26, 2025, By Alex Dunbar

More In Arts & Culture

VPA Announces New Drama Department Chair

The College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) has appointed Eleanor Holdridge as the new chair of the Department of Drama effective July 1. Holdridge comes to Syracuse University from the Catholic University of America, where she served as professor…

Swinging Into Summer: Syracuse International Jazz Fest Returns With Star Power, Student Talent and a Soulful Campus Finale

Get ready for the sweet summer sounds of jazz in the city and on campus. The University is again a sponsor of the Syracuse International Jazz Fest, a five-day celebration of world-class jazz music and community spirit, taking place June…

Tiffany Xu Named Harry der Boghosian Fellow for 2025-26

The School of Architecture has announced that architect Tiffany Xu is the Harry der Boghosian Fellow for 2025–26. Xu will succeed current fellow, Erin Cuevas, and become the tenth fellow at the school. The Boghosian Fellowship at the School of…

Syracuse Stage Concludes 2024-25 Season With ‘The National Pastime’

Syracuse Stage concludes its 2024-25 season with the world premiere production of “The National Pastime,” a provocative psychological thriller about state secrets, sonic weaponry, stolen baseball signs and the father and son relationship in the middle of it all. Written…

Syracuse Stage Hosts Inaugural Julie Lutz New Play Festival

Syracuse Stage is pleased to announce that the inaugural Julie Lutz New Play Festival will be held at the theatre this June. Formerly known as the Cold Read Festival of New Plays, the festival will feature a work-in-progress reading and…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • X
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2025 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.