Jenelle is hanging photos on a wall that is 8 7/8 feet long. she wants to hang a canvas in thr middle of the wall that is 11 1/4 inches long. how far each side will the canvas be once it is centered on the wall?

I doubt that the length of the wall is  11 1/4 inches.  You probably meant 11 1/4 feet.

Subtract 8 7/8 feet from 11 1/4 feet.  In other words, subtract

8 7/8 ft from 10 10/8 ft (after borrowing).  10 10/8 ft - 8 7/8 ft = 2 3/8 ft.

Divide this in half.  On each side of the picture will be 1 3/16 ft of wall.