Murals transform the function of a wall. A thin layer of color manages to change a wall from a barrier to an artwork. The wall no longer keeps people apart, but begins to draw people together. This transformation is mirrored in the community as well.

A mural forms a community around itself. Murals are often such large and visible projects that everyone in the area knows about it, and has an opinion on how it should be done. We have learned that the most successful community murals come from listening to, and drawing upon, this great diversity of thought. Instead of engaging a community to help me create a mural, We view ourselves as helping a community to create their own project. We see ourselves as a facilitators of murals, using our artistic and technical skills to help form cohesive, coherent and beautiful murals from a diverse group of people and ideas.

Recently, while working on a community mural in the small town of San Pancho, in Nayarit, Mexico, we aimed to engage as many members of the community as possible, including those who were not engaged at all in “the arts”. While talking to community members about possible themes, We learned that pollution, poaching and over fishing were threatening San Pancho’s way of life. We decided to use the mural project as a means to educate community members about their own delicate ecosystems, and their own affect on them.

To begin with, we sought out the help of an old fisherman who we were told, “knew the waters better than anyone else”. This knowledgeable man showed us which fish and sea-creatures are local to the area, and which ones are traditional local favorites. From this discussion, we decided to facilitate an “under-water” mural for the entrance to the library.

Following the philosophy that there is strength in diversity, we encouraged everyone to get involved. The result was astounding: over 60 people from all parts of the community participated directly in the painting of the mural. There were fish and sea-creatures painted by children, parents, teachers, foreign volunteers, lifeguards, tourists, construction workers, local teens, retired ex-pats, grand-parents, professional artists and art students. As people painted, the images inspired conversations about the very creatures we were putting in the mural. People spoke proudly of the wealth of diversity their town possessed.

Immediately, the mural had an effect on the town. People started to visit the library more, if only just to point out to a friend the fish they had painted. Tourists seemed to take an interest in the local sea life, and the community appeared to value a little more the diversity, both of wildlife, and of talent, that the town shared.

We believe so deeply in the power of murals because they inspire a sense of pride in a community. This feeling is contagious, and begins to spread off the painted walls of the mural. People can, sometimes for the first time, see that a community can create change. A mural represents this potential. Where once there stood only a wall – constructed to divide people and space – there now stands a piece of art. The wall becomes a window, to possibility, and a mirror so that the community may se itself as it can one day be.

There is an optimism in art: the artist sees the blank canvas for its possibility. This way of thinking can be applied to one’s life as well: viewing the blank years ahead with that same feeling of potential. It is this that we hope to impart upon those we work with – the idea that every wall is not standing in the way of something, dividing you from your goals; rather, that every wall and every day are blank canvases, awaiting transformation

Mural Projects

	Barcelona Huerto
Commonvision
	Paradise Farm Camp
San Pancho