Fresh new mural brightens Heartside with messages of growth, diversity
Twenty high school and middle school students worked together on the mural at 106 South Division. The mural is entered in the Youth category for ArtPrize and will also appear for part of the UICA and Seitu Jones ArtPrize Nine exhibit as a table runner during the Heartside Community Meal.
With ArtPrize Nine fast approaching, many artist are putting the finishing touches on their masterpieces. And with the frustrating political atmosphere, there is no doubt that many of the artworks will focus on hot topics like racism, aggressive acts of injustice, and fear of war. The mural entry by the Cook Arts Center is adding a positive spin to the conversation.
Twenty high school and middle school students participating in the Cook Arts Center Teen Leaders program worked on the Heartside mural located on South Division. Along with competing for the Youth Collaboration Award, new this year, this mural will be a part of a larger ArtPrize exhibit.
“The UICA in partnership with Seitu Jones are putting on the Heartside Community Meal, part of the UICA’s ArtPrize Nine exhibition,” explains Jordyn Fishman, lead artist for the mural and a student at the University of Michigan design school.
“[The ArtPrize entry is] a 200 person community meal [with] all locally grown food, local chefs, zero waste dinner, that’s going to be located in Heartside Park. The meal was made to promote food justice within the community,” she says.
Students at the Cook Arts Center are working together to encourage the Heartside area. Each student participated in part of the experience whether helping with planning, painting the mural, or community outreach.
“The community gave us ideas like what should we add in the gears [and] what do you want to see,” says Thomas a Cook Arts Center student. “So with their ideas and feedback, we made this.”
The mural emphasizes that each member of Heartside is important and needs the other to enjoy a healthy community.
“Starting rusty and then getting bigger and brighter, they all need each other to turn, just like our community,” Thomas says about the gears in the mural.
The mural was designed with the hopes of representing the whole community of Heartside, including different ethnic groups, genders, and viewpoints. The diversity on the new mural is a reflection of the many people living near and around it.
“When you look at it we wanted people to see themselves in it and feel safe here,” says Fishman. “And know that there are people here for them when they are having a hard time or struggling.”
The Heartside community reflects unity, equality, and diversity and the mural is another place where they are reminded of this, Fishman explains. The Cook Arts Center Students also hope that the mural will encourage growth in the neighborhood.
“I believe in this kind of work for change [and] in promoting equality. I believe in it very strongly,” says Fishman.
The students come from different interests and are excited and motivated to try new things.
Magdalena joined the Cook Arts Center through her school and is a student teacher working with younger kids. She wanted to help with the mural because it would help encourage others in the Heartside neighborhood.
“We put every ethnicity and we [are] showing how important everything is,” she says.
Another Cook Arts Center student, Jacqueline, has been participating in the center’s programs for six years. Jacqueline planned the design and painted the mural with the other students.
“[It shows] people in the Heartside community given opportunities [which] are opening doors for them,” she says, explaining why the gears are going from rusty to new.
The leadership program, as well, has opened doors for the students at Cook Arts Center. Jacqueline, for example, says the program has helped her with school and given her new experiences that she would not have otherwise been a part of.
The Heartside Mural was researched, designed, and painted by the Teen Leaders and Cook Arts Center staff and volunteers.
Alejandro M.
Angie L.
Antonio J.
Britney G.
Brittney M.
Dulce L.
Edgar J.
Egypt K.
Emmanuel Z.
Gilberto G.
Itzel M.
Jaqueline M.
Jonathan G.
Karla A.
Kathy A.
Lanaesia G.
Magdalena L.
Rachel G.
Santiago L.
Thomas S.Jordyn Fishman (Lead Artist)
Vanessa Cervantes (CAC Staff)
Steffanie Rosalez (CAC Staff)
Denise Hillen (CAC Staff)
The Heartside Community Meal will be held on September 23 at Heartside Park where table runners printed with images of the mural will cover the tables. Conversations about food justice and the similarities of the community are encouraged and in line with the message the mural is promoting.
