Local students create mural celebrating their Latino heritage

The Hispanic Center and Cook Arts Center are welcoming the community to celebrate a new mural on August 4, 2016, from 6 to 8 p.m. at 912 Grandville Ave. 

The student-led community mural is entitled “Nuestra Historia, Nuestra Voz” (Our History, Our Voice) and is now a part of the Grandville Avenue Corridor. 

"High school students from the Hispanic Center of Western Michigan and the Cook Arts Center collaborated with community members and local artists to plan, design, and create a mural celebrating the cultural heritage and unity of Grandville Avenue," said Rachel López, Director of Youth and Parent Services at the Hispanic Center of Western Michigan. "For the past nine months youth have been exploring ideas of identity, race, and heritage, while creating a piece of art to celebrate the neighborhood, for the neighborhood. With the help of local artists Raquel Silva, David Frison, and Ricardo Gonzalez, the students recently finished the mural."

Lopez notes the project would not have been possible without funding from the Michigan Humanities Council, an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Due to their support, local students were not only able to forge a massive piece of public art, but were able to document the process as well.

"The teens set out to navigate their own personal experiences of culture and racism. Along the way, they managed to discover that art, specifically public art, can be a form of healing. Their journey was documented and is being produced by the Grand Rapids Community Media Center’s Elevating Voices project, who believe that their efforts can create a legacy for their community and inspire future generations," said Lopez.

“They’re attempting to tell a story about the makeup of the community,” said George Wietor, of the Community Media Center. “It does a couple of things really well, it beautifies the neighborhood, as a way to cover over one of the things that have become an eyesore, that has disintegrated over time (referring to a different wall). That presented a new opportunity rather than to rework what happened in the past, they were able to create a new story about the makeup of the neighborhood as it stands now. Through the documentary, they are able to tell the story behind the story."

"It’s a great opportunity to illustrate what makes that neighborhood so exciting and special," Wietor said.

This event is free and open to the public. There will be food, drinks, bounce houses, as well as music. Art that shows the progress of the mural will also be on display. For more information about this event or to RSVP please visit www.muralblockparty.eventbrite.com.