The new mural at the Carlos Rosario school is more than an art project
By hola | Published | No Comments
There’s a tree split down the middle in the new mural at the Sonia Gutierrez Campus of the Carlos Rosario International Public Charter School in Northeast D.C. One side has a moon and dark-colored leaves, representing night; the other has a sun, symbolizing day. Out of its canopy sprout the heads of a man, a woman and a child. Balanced on their heads is a basket of fruit and vegetables, representing the responsibilities people share. Around the trunk spirals a snake, signifying protection of both tree and human.
The images tell a story of different people coming together, sharing stories, and incorporating them into the mural. It was created by a group of Carlos Rosario student artists, working closely with D.C. artist Frida Larios. They came together to develop the theme and paint the school’s latest work of art this past spring at its Northeast campus that opened in 2013.
It’s not the school’s only mural. You may have seen the street mural painted on the facade of its older Harvard Street NW campus. “Literacy is Global” was another student-powered project painted in 2004 by DC artist Cheryl Foster and featuring a group of Carlos Rosario students in the traditional dress of their countries.
The group working on the new mural wanted the mural to feature nature and the life cycle; showing the past, the present and the future. The final design also incorporates the African symbol of a bird, “Sankofa,” which means “whenever we need something, we return back to our roots” in Ghana, according to Musah Swallah, one of the students who participated in the project, which was entirely student led with the exception of Larios, who came into the school five times to lead workshops with the student artists.
The project was sponsored by the Salvadoran Cultural Institute and Casa de la Cultura El Salvador at GALA Hispanic Theatre, along with additional funds from the school.
“To me, the arts are an essential element for human understanding that goes beyond borders, understanding globalization and the human condition,” says Jeannette Noltenius, the Salvadoran Cultural Institute’s President and Founder, who sees art as a safe haven and place for people to express themselves.
“We can all understand our lives through art,” Noltenius says. “Carlos Rosario is validating all of the students. Many of them do not know how to speak English. Many of them did not get a chance of getting an education in their countries of origin, but they can be validated for other skills” like artistic ability.
Tara Villanueva, the school’s program manager of Arts Integration & Culture, meanwhile, emphasizes the importance of art to one’s expressive self.
“[Art] is still the heart of most people’s lives whether they realize it or not because the arts is in everything,” Villanueva says. “You see color everywhere. Your phone is designed by a designer…the books that you read are written by people who are pellets and creative writers, so I feel like art is at the core of every moment.”
“With having this project, it’s making sure that people remember the stories and the color that the world and everyone else brings; it’s just that bridge to everything else,” she adds.
Larios also believes art brings people together.
“To me, it means the coming together of different cultures and different experiences, stories and also the stories of our ancestors that bring the past to the present and the present to the future,” Larios says. “It’s good that they [students and staff] are reminded of that through the piece.”
She sees murals not only as a means of bringing people together, but as a communications platform. It’s an idea that Swallah shares. He admires the power of images over words and likes to create artwork that speaks to people. He says he wants to inspire people who happen on this mural to think “what’s the idea? What is the reason why the artists are trying to portray?”
“They’ll be amazed like they’ll ask questions to themselves and try to find answers,” says Swallah, who hopes the mural will brighten the day of Carlos Rosario students, making them “really happy to come to school whenever he (or she) thinks of the mural.”
— Bailey Kroner
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