Imagining Positive Climate Futures Through Public Art: The Envision Resilience Mural Project, Part 2
Envision Resilience team members celebrated the installation of the Envision Resilience Mural in New Bedford with community partners from New Bedford Creative, Love the Ave, the owners of 1200 Acushnet Avenue, muralist David Andrews (center in red), student illustrator Ethan Moyer (center-right in white), UMass Dartmouth CVPA and Groundwork South Coast.
By Charlotte Van Voorhis
New Bedford’s North End boasted blue skies and 70-degree weather on Tuesday, August 20, as a group of 50 people gathered at the beloved North End Stereo Building in the late afternoon. A freshly painted mural on the Sawyer Street-side brick wall of the building, located at 1200 Acushnet Avenue, showed a young person raising binoculars and looking out over tumultuous waves with a smile.
Muralist David Andrews and his daughter admire the mural on August 20, 2024.
The crowd stood along the sidewalk chatting with one another as collaborators, in one way or another, on the mural project itself. Margo Saulnier, of New Bedford Creative, said “I couldn’t think of a better project to envision the [goals of New Bedford Creative] than this mural that really encompasses everything we do.”
Margo’s team at New Bedford Creative worked to find an artist that would translate Ethan Moyer’s design to a mural and chose local artist and community organizer, David Andrews. Andrews, curator of Gallery X’s recent “Cultural Mosaic” exhibit and co-founder of Gathering of Wampanoag Educators said he was thrilled to do the mural and practice his own craft.
David jumped at the opportunity to put the design, which had been selected by a North End neighborhood vote conducted by MassDevelopment TDI Fellow Adelsa Mendes. Adelsa works with community members to celebrate the Acushnet Avenue Neighborhood and helped create Love the Ave, which helped organize the mural celebration.
Adelsa presented multiple designs from UMass Dartmouth CVPA’s Illustration course, a 2023 Envision Resilience New Bedford and Fairhaven Challenge participant, to the community before the voting group made its final decision. Illustration student Ethan Moyer said he was thrilled to hear his design had been picked.
“I never thought I’d see my art replicated at 10 times its normal size,” said Ethan. “It just goes to show that art can be used in so many different and meaningful ways.”
Following the mural unveiling, attendees gathered at Taqueria La Raza for refreshments. Conversations ranged from discussing the mural’s themes to future artistic endeavors across the city to the importance of art in communicating about hope and resilience in the face of vast and intimidating realities like climate change.
“We’ve always believed in the power of art to communicate all sorts of big, difficult topics and bring people together,” said Envision Resilience project manager, Claire Martin. “This visual depiction of resilience and hope and strength really brings the program full circle.”
Student illustrator Ethan Moyer and his family at the Envision Resilience Mural Celebration on August 20, 2024.
The celebration was the culmination of two years of collaboration between Envision Resilience, New Bedford Creative, Love the Ave, the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth CVPA, Remain and MassDevelopment TDI. In attendance, numerous representatives from Envision Resilience’s 2023 New Bedford and Fairhaven advisory committee came out to show their support as well.
The Envision Resilience Mural Project not only showcased Ethan and David’s artistic talents, but also reinforced the importance of using collaboration, creativity and hope in imagining equitable and adaptive futures.
