We did it!!! It was a wonderful experience working with fellow artist, Gabriela Riveros, the students of Escuela Verde Milwaukee, and Ali Carlucci of Artists Working in Education, Inc. on this public art project. This mural has been and will continue to be a great way to research, talk about, and understand immigration and the role it plays in how civilizations change and evolve–culturally, technologically, and economically. It also serves as a beacon for the arts as not only integral–but a leader for how we think, feel, and take action.
Thank you to everyone who came to our mural celebration today, and to all the students, organizers, and community partners who made this project a success. For those of you who weren’t able to make it, you can view the mural at 35th and Pierce Street in Milwaukee and continue to learn more about the project on this website.
The finished mural, which stands 12 x 30 feet. It occupies the Eastern wall of the Superior Salt building, at 35th and Pierce Street, in Silver City.Artists Gabi Riveros (left) and Jenie Gao (right).Major thanks to Max Balan, who installed our mural panels on the Superior Salt Building!Students and instructors with the mural.
Students and community members gathered for the celebration.Beth and Ali of AWE, Inc. speaking alongside the students.Classmates of the mural students at Escuela Verde.
We dedicated a few of our workshops to the role of the arts in social movements. Here are some of the examples from our classes.
Literatura de Cordel: “String Literature”
These are inexpensive booklets sold at fairs and by street vendors in Brazil. They cover topics from popular songs and poetry to politics and education. This format for spreading a message quickly and cheaply has been used in social and political movements across cultures (chapbooks in Europe and papel volante in Portugal).
The invention of printing played an instrumental, disruptive role in human society. It democratized literacy, information, and education. These pamphlets are just one of many examples of how printing gave us the power to communicate and share with the masses.
Like print, social media has become the tool for disseminating information quickly and inciting social movements. Our online posts are our modern-day “pamphlets,” and hashtags are a way to organize our messages into a movement that others can easily follow, find, and share. Here are some examples of how different people and groups have made their messages travel using social media and hashtags.
Example 1: #TheRealUW
#TheRealUW is a hashtag that UW-Madison Athletics created, but after three racial hate incidents occurred on campus in March towards students of color, outraged students usurped #TheRealUW hashtag to point out the racial problems on campus that the school has not addressed.
If you Google #TheRealUW the top search results all have to do with race and the students’ movement.
Photo courtesy #TheRealUW Facebook page. These were also exhibited at the Chazen Art Museum.Photo courtesy #TheRealUW Facebook page. These were also exhibited at the Chazen Art Museum.Photo courtesy #TheRealUW Facebook page. These were also exhibited at the Chazen Art Museum.Photo courtesy #TheRealUW Facebook page. These were also exhibited at the Chazen Art Museum.
A mother shared the above Facebook Status when Trump’s claim that he would ban all Muslims scared her daughter that their family would be deported. The status went viral, and military veterans responded with the following messages and the hashtag #IWillProtectYou.
Technology is undoubtedly powerful. How can we harness this power effectively, ethically, and meaningfully? How can we use it not only to drive our own ideas, but also empower others to ask good questions and imagine new possibilities?
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