Mural Project for Your Community A Slide Show

Mural Project for Your Community A Slide Show Presentation Created for the University of Florida Art Education Program by Sheri Majewski - Veronica Mariscal - Barbara Ray

PUBLIC WORKS OF ART ENHANCE COMMUNITIES Franz West 2008 Central Park Tony Tasset, 2010 Chicago Philadelphia Art. Works! Mural Project John Fleming & Susan Zoccola, 2002 Seattle Center Anish Kapoor, 2006 Rockefeller Center Silver Plaza Fountain Silver Springs, MD

What Can Public Art Do for Your Community? • • • Increase desirability of neighborhoods and cities Fulfill community and social needs Foster proactive partnerships Facilitate community pride and connection to neighbors Promote professional respect for artists and art work Add meaning to shared social spaces Give youth vision for a better tomorrow Inspire the community with a common voice of hope Educate the public on cultural perspectives through art

Mural Projects : Address Social Issues of the Community While Revitalizing a Landmark Area with Art The Maestrapeace on the Women's Building Mission District, San Francisco Photo: Chris Carlsson

Exploring the Purpose of Murals: The main purpose and goal is to use a familiar public space in the environment, to bring restoration to the community through mural art; using the legacies found in cultural heritage as the basis to create a relevant work of art that celebrates culture, diversity, and evokes community pride and social justice; while providing equal access to the arts.

Mural Project : Necessary Steps Develop Project Timeline Assess Costs and Draft Budget Identify Funding Sources /Make proposals Secure Necessary Permits Select & Contract Qualified Artist/Educator Develop and Approve Plans and Sketches Procure supplies Identify & Recruit Community Volunteers Identify & Recruit Youth: ie. Boys & Girls Club

Public Art Mural Project as Service Learning for Youth Encourage youth to participate in all aspects of the project toward developing art and life skills Provide youth with a meaningful experience in creating a lasting work of art Promote cross-generational mentoring Promote cross-cultural collaboration

Mural: Art Education Curriculum Objectives • Create awareness and appreciation for community and culture… Preservation of values • Express opinions… choose medium, content • Organize… recruit volunteers, assign tasks, schedule tasks and crews, plan for supplies, etc. • Cooperate… listening skills, teamwork, surveying for ideas: interviews, record data, report information, answer questions • Sketch/Draw/Paint – use descriptive language; art vocabulary; practice with media

Mural: Art Education Curriculum Content I. III. Project Intro & Background : Introduction of Mural Projects and Community Mural Gather Artwork Examples Discuss themes, characters, setting, messages seen in mural work Explain Project Plan and discuss schedule of activities Cultural History Local Historical Museum field trips and community guest speakers Discuss Questions to ask Guest Speakers, Community, and Artists Cultural theme-What is the main idea? Characters – Who, What, When, Where, Why? Setting – What area? cities? villages? famous places? landscapes? What lesson learned about the community? Project Organization & Cooperative Learning Create an Action Plan Mural teams / task assignment charts

Mural: Art Education Curriculum Content IV. VI. Mural Content Selection Brainstorm, sketching, group observation & reflection skills: photographs or other imagery, stories Historical/ Cultural Research ideas Community, Student and Artist ideas Application /Sketching of Selections Finalize sample sketches Students arrange their individual sketches into the overall format. Final layout of mural design Mural Creation Process Surveying location, preparation Organize people into task groups Gather and set up materials Picture taking, Gridding, Projecting, Drawing, Painting Create Community Flyers, Promotion for Opening Reception

Mural Project : Final Exhibition Event On-Site Event Showcase student works Officially present Mural to community Invite media for public awareness Mural Project Evaluation: Surveys to volunteers and community

Mural Project Examples and Testimonials from Participants

“…The actual, physical reality of people assembling to make decisions about their neighborhood was a galvanizing democratic experience. . . ” ~~Anonymous "Young people who are involved in making something beautiful today are less likely to turn to violence and destruction tomorrow" ~~Americans for the Arts “Each project showed a degree of empathy for a unique community and gave students an opportunity to use their art skills to deal with the world through art. ” ~~ J. Ulbricht “Rise to the occasion…It is a testimony to the capacity of art to transform people and society. ” ~~Lily Yeh

Ridge on the Rise, by Eric Okdeh © 2004 Photo by Jack Ramsdale “This story - telling mural - includes Cecil Moore, people at the wall of Girard college, Pearl theatre where jazz greats like John Coltrane performed. In the mural, the art deco façade of the long gone theatre contrasts with the forbidding ten foot stone wall that still encloses the grounds of Girard College, location of the landmark civil rights struggle. “

Ralph Maradiaga Mini-park (New York) “The eight murals in this playground date from 1974 and almost completely cover the three walls that surround the mid-block pocket park. One mural portrays the Aztec deity Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent, who forms the backdrop for a pre-Colombian village scene, with people working, fishing and playing music. A colorful mosaic sculpture of Quetzalcoatl with mirrored eyes snakes through the play area, inviting children to clamber all over it. ” forum. skyscraperpage. com/showthread. php? t=168739

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Dreams, by Phillip Adams. Martin Luther King mural. © 2007 Photo by Jack Ramsdale Not shown here is a poem by Langston Hughes, entitled DREAMS. “Hold fast to your dreams For if dreams die Life is a broken-winged bird That cannot fly Hold fast to dreams For when dreams die Life is a barren field Frozen with snow “

Reaching for Your Star, by Donald Gensler, , Philadelphia, Pa. © 2003 This mural was created with the help of Art. WORKS! participants and students from nearby University of Pennsylvania. Photo by Jack Ramsdale

RESOURCES http: //www. fadingad. com/fadingadblog/? p=973 http: //www. stonybrook. edu/provostliasn/bookstore/mural. html foundsf. org/index. php? title=Community_Murals http: //www. pps. org http: //www. visual-arts-cork. com/public-art. htm artsresourcenetwork. net/public_art/types_of_public_art http: //www. arts. gov City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program / Donald Gensler, Phlilip Adams, Eric Okdeh Ulbricht, J. What is Community Based Art Education? Art Education, March 2005 Coutts, G. and Rusling, L. Design, Environment and Community Arts. Art Education, November 2002 Ramesy Art Project, Boston Massachusetts