New project in progress!

I'm currently working on a new project, "The Domestic Violence Awareness Mural" located on 12th Street NE in Washington, DC. I have a partnership with the local organization DASH (District Alliance for Safe Housing), which provides refuge and services to victims of domestic violence. I interviewed DASH workers as well as clients, who shared their experiences with me. Out of these interviews I created a mural design that tells the story of a woman and her child who go through the pain and trauma of domestic violence before escaping the situation. They now look toward a brighter future with the support of family, friends, and a case worker, and are joined by women of many backgrounds, showing that this issue is universal across race, ethnicity and nationality. Special thanks to our host site, the Brookland Cafe, and to our many individual sponsors who made this project possible! We will be hosting a public event in October to inaugurate the mural, featuring live music, survivors of domestic violence telling their stories, spoken word poetry, and food. Details coming soon...

Columbia Rd. Youth Mural in progress!

This summer, I linked up with Washington DC youth from Civic Engagement, a Latin American Youth Center program based in Roosevelt High School. We studied mural art, graffiti art and mosaics, and I led the students in the design of their own mural. We're currently painting on Columbia Rd. NW at Georgia Ave, as part of the citywide Murals DC program. Click here to check out the project blog!

Santiago de Cuba: International Mural Festival Inter-Nos 2010

Inter-Nos is an international mural festival that happens every 2 years in Santiago de Cuba. In January of 2010, artists from Mexico, Argentina, Canada, the US, Martinique, Dominican Republic, Germany and Denmark joined Cuban artists to create 10 new murals around the city, including several that involved local youth. This is an amazing event that's been going on for 18 years! I had the opportunity to participate this year, and became a member of the newly- formed Inter-Nos International Council on Mural Arts, which is dedicated to bringing collaborative mural projects to many countries around the world. Check out the photos of the event by clicking here!

Global Refugee Mural: Silver Spring, MD 2009

“The Global Refugee Mural” tells the stories of three refugees who live in Maryland, whom I conducted interviews with in order to design this mural. I was inspired to do this project after working with refugees at a refugee resettlement center run by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in downtown Silver Spring, Maryland, who I partnered with for this project. The mural deals with the human rights abuses in each of the three refugees’ homelands as well as celebrating the culture and traditions there.

The first section of the mural tells the story of Georges, a refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo who was once the mayor of his city. When a violent rebel group attacked his region, he took his family and escaped to a refugee camp in Kenya, and eventually came to the US. The second section shows the story of Mai, a refugee from Myanmar, formerly Burma. When the repressive government discovered that she had visited a Christian church group in the US, she and her family were persecuted and she was unable to return to her country. The third refugee, Taameem, is a woman from the south of Iraq. Her brother, a young and educated man with progressive and democratic ideals, was murdered by a local fundamentalist militia group several years ago. She was targeted by the group as well, and escaped and came to the US as a refugee.

This mural was featured on the international news network Al Jazeera English and various local newspapers. The project was funded through a 2009 grant from the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County, and is located at Kefa Café, at 963 Bonifant Street, Silver Spring, MD, at Georgia Ave. 
Al- Jazeera feature story:

"The Afro-Colombian Mural: Currulao y Desplazamiento" 2009

The “Afro-Colombian Mural: Currulao y Desplazamiento” in Washington DC celebrates the strong and vibrant Afro-Colombian culture and educates the public about the widespread displacement and other human rights issues related to the armed conflict. I designed this mural with the guidance, input, and inspiration of many of my close friends in DC’s Afro-Colombian community, many of whom have political asylum due to the severe human rights situation. I also traveled to the conflict-ridden Pacific Coast region of Colombia to visit my friends’ families, take pictures and do research, all of which contributed to the images in the 3-story tall mural, located on U Street, one of DC’s most vibrant and popular commercial districts.
 
The mural was inaugurated with a well-attended public event featuring my mural presentation, speeches by the Afro-Colombian activist Marino Córdoba and a local DC councilmember, live music, traditional food, and a folkloric dance presentation by the local Afro-Colombian dance group Tangaré. The mural was funded by the DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities, and is located at 1344 U Street NW, at 14th. The event was co-sponsored by TransAfrica Forum and NASGACC.

Click here for photos of the event.

Baltimore Murals: "Across the Waves..."

“Across the Waves…” is a large mural (1500 square feet) in the Highlandtown neighborhood of Baltimore, and it celebrates the history and culture of the community. I came to research Highlandtown in 2008, and was struck by the diverse waves of immigrants that have arrived for more than a century, and continue to arrive today. The left side shows European immigrants arriving by boat early in the 20th century, and shows their lifestyle in the neighborhood, including their custom of washing their marble steps every Saturday morning, something that many long-time residents remember from their childhoods. Today, Highlandtown is a diverse community, including Black, White, and Latino residents, and the right side of the mural demonstrates this diversity. There has been a huge influx of Latino immigrants in recent years, and the mural shows a man talking on the phone to his family back in his home country, demonstrating the strong connection that recently-arrived immigrants feel to their homelands and their families. The mural was funded by the Baltimore Office on Promotion and the Arts (BOPA), and is located at the corner of Banks and Highland Street. It was featured by the international news network Voice of America (click here for video).
Also in 2008, I painted an underpass column in downtown Baltimore, an area which is used as a farmer’s market on weekends. Going along with this theme, I painted a Mayan farming theme, including the Corn God. All the columns in the market are painted by local artists, a project that’s also funded by BOPA.

City of God/ Cidade de Deus Series: Rio de Janeiro and Washington DC

In 2009, I returned to Brazil to live and work in one of Rio de Janeiro's favelas (shantytowns) called Cidade de Deus (City of God), made famous by the 2002 film of the same name. I lived with a family there and taught English courses at the community organization CUFA, which was co-founded by one of the City of God’s most important residents, the internationally acclaimed socially- conscious Hip Hop artist MV Bill, who I became friends with in New York while interpreting for him, and who gave me the opportunity to come and live in his community. His organization has community centers in favelas all across Brazil, teaching theater, graffiti art, computer skills, dance, and more. I painted 2 aerosol murals in the neighborhood based on family dynamics in the favela, called “Mãe e Filho (Mother and Son)” and “3 Gerações (3 Generations).” (below) When I returned to Washington DC, I completed the series by painting the large piece “Felipe’s Story,” (above) which explores the world of a child growing up in the favela, including both the joy and the tragedy, and relating this to children growing up in marginalized communities around the world, including in DC. The mural focuses on Felipe, one of children from the family I lived with in the City of God. It was painted on the community arts space BloomBars in Columbia Heights, and was funded by the DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities.

                  

Youth Mural in Columbia Heights, DC: "My Culture, Mi Gente"

“My Culture, Mi Gente” was painted in Washington DC’s Columbia Heights neighborhood with local youth. I led mural workshops where the teenage students learned painting skills, Mural Art History, technical aspects of mural production, and learned to design their own mural about their community. My students and I presented the mural at a community Mural Inauguration event. The project and event were in collaboration with the Latin American Youth Center (LAYC) and was funded by the DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities. The mural is located at the LAYC’s Teen Bridge Program at 3043 15th St. NW, at Irving.
I facilitated another mural project on the inside wall of this program with a group of foster youth in 2008. The mural, titled “Welcome to Casa Zol” was commissioned by the LAYC.

Celebrating Historic U Street in Wasington DC: "From Ellington to Obama" 2009

 

I was commissioned to paint “U Street, from Ellington to Obama” inside U Street Café, located in one of Washington DC’s most historical and vibrant areas, known as the U Street corridor. The left side portrays a jazz scene featuring Duke Ellington, a U Street- native who was active when the neighborhood was famous for jazz in the 1920’s and 30’s. Billie Holiday, who often played on U Street, and the old Roosevelt Theater are also memorialized. The right side features the huge street celebration on the historical election night of 2008, portraying the thousands of people from every race, nationality, and ethnicity that poured onto U Street that night to celebrate their collective win.

Click here for more pics of the mural.

Spray paint murals with DC youth

In 2008 I partnered with artist Rashad Cuffee to teach local youth spray painting skills and create 2 community murals through the Murals DC program, whose mission is to pair groups of youth with professional artists to use their skills to beautify their neighborhoods. “Life Makes Music” (above) is located on Riggs Rd. NE, at South Dakota Ave. “The Crane” (below) is on the corner of Florida Ave. NW and 5th Street. Funded by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities.

The Georgia Avenue Global Mural Project: Washington, DC 2008

In 2008 I organized a group of 5 artists of different cultures and nationalities to paint 5 murals along one of Washington DC’s main corridors, Georgia Ave. I coordinated the “Georgia Avenue Global Mural Project” in order to explore international social and cultural issues as they relate to the local community, and received funding through a grant from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities.
My mural for this project, “Daughter of Oshun in the New World,” (at left) is located on the corner of Georgia Ave NW and Kenyon, and explores the tension between ancient spirituality and modern, faced-paced life. The other artists involved in the project were Pepe Piedra, Helina Metaferia, Nate Ovelar, and Endalkachew Filfilu. The 5 of us presented our work to the public at a community event at Rumbero’s restaurant in October of 2008.

Click here to see all 5 murals

The Afro-Brazilian Series 2005-2006

In 2005 I lived, worked, and studied Portuguese in Salvador da Bahia, Brazil. This region is known for its strong Afro-Brazilian culture, and during my time there I lived and taught classes in a community of Candomblé, a religion based on the spirituality of the Yoruba people of West Africa that survived the slave trade and has even thrived in modern-day Brazil. I made close, lasting friendships and was inspired by the beautiful ceremonies and ancient rituals, which are practices by people who are perfectly comfortable with the modern world of internet and cell phones. While there, I painted a series of 5 deities, called orixás, for the community. (below)
After returning to the US, I painted a large mural celebrating Bahian culture and spirituality in San Francisco, “Sob o Sol dos Orixás (Under the Sun of the Orishas)” located on 24th Street and Capp. (above)
I also painted a Bahian piece for the Brazilian restaurant Brazil Café in Berkeley, called “Um Olhar nas Ruas da Bahia (A Glance on the Streets of Bahia).” (below, left)