COVID-19 Mural Project
Community ResiliencE
Art
In the fall of 2020, working with the talented Jersey City-based artist Duda Penteado, New Brunswick Tomorrow and coLAB Arts partnered to produce a community mural that memorialized the experiences of New Brunswick’s young people during the unprecendented COVID-19 pandemic. The end result was a permanent public mural installation at 314 Handy Street (the exterior wall of Costa Chica Restaurant), incorporating over 100 tiles individually decorated by participating youth.
Advocacy
COVID-19 was a time of uncertainty for all, but even more communities for immigrant communities and communities of color. This project allowed student participants to express their anxieties and showcase their observations and strategies for navigating event such as pandemic response, #BlackLivesMatter protests, the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage, and the 2020 presidential election.
Community
Participants included young people from coLAB Arts Summer Institute, New Brunswick’s Civic League after school program with Paul Robeson Community School, Students from McKinley Community School.
Duda Penteado is a fine artist, filmmaker, educator and cultural visionary, who has lived between the United States and Brazil for more than 20 years and works with performance , video, installations, murals, sculptures, paintings, and other visual practices. In recent years Duda has devoted much of his work on important issues of peace, globalization, diaspora, dual citizenship, and other geopolitical and social phenomena of the twenty-first century.
How did we do it?
coLAB Arts education created a virtual education model to fulfill Duda Penteado’s vision of the final co-created mural. To keep all of the participants safe we coordinated an art distribution process which included all of the materials needed for each individual tile delivered directly to participants homes. Typically workshops where organized as a weeklong program in which groups of participating youth engaged in a facilitated reflection on their experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic, and decorated their own mask tile as a creative response. The photo album documents all of the finished tiles on the final mural documented. Classes or programs of youth ages 12-18 typical in groups sessions of 10-12 youth at a time. coLAB Arts Teaching Artists met with groups through virtual classroom platforms as well as created an instruction website and video that students could engage with on their own time.
Naming the Mural
The title of the mural, “Heroes Entre Nosotros,” was chosen by members of New Brunswick Tomorrow’s Esperanza Neighborhood Project. These Latina mothers and community leaders met virtually with Duda Penteado early in the visioning process to give shape to the emerging project. They were keen to see the mural reflect the resilience, solidarity, and mutual aid that flourished in the community even in the darkest days of the pandemic. To this end, they later selected the phrase “Heroes Entre Nosotros” (“Heroes Among Us”) to honor the many individuals and groups that stepped up to support their neighbors and the most vulnerable members of our community.
Social and Emotional Learning
Guiding young people through a response process that asks them to reflect on their feelings, experiences, and hopes during this time of stress.
This year’s program focused heavily on Social and Emotional Learning Competency response questions. We included opportunities for live virtual learning with other professional socially-engaged artists as a way to show students that even though we are separated in this moment it is always possible for people to come together to take positive actions.
Self Awareness
Recognize one's feelings and thoughts
Recognize one’s personal traits, strengths, and limitations
Recognize the importance of self-confidence in handling daily tasks and challenges
Self-Management
Understand and practice strategies for managing one’s own emotions, thoughts, and behaviors
Social Awareness
Recognize and identify the thoughts, feelings, and perspectives of others
Demonstrate an awareness of the expectations for social interactions in a variety of settings
Relationship Skills
Utilize positive communication and social skills to interact effectively with others