Latest news with #communityart
BBC News
a day ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
New community murals celebrate Goldthorpe's heritage
Two murals have been painted with the help of pupils from a local primary school to celebrate the heritage of a South Yorkshire artworks, in Horse and Groom Square in Goldthorpe, Barnsley, were painted by Craig Evans and Tom Jackson, who are known as STATIC, with the help of the artists created stencil illustrations with children at Highgate Primary Academy, and those were incorporated into the Robin Franklin said: "Everyone who has played their part in shaping and painting the murals, which are colourful, vibrant and joyful, can be rightly proud of a job well done." Franklin said the project, funded by the government's Towns Fund, showed members of the Dearne community could achieve "great things" together."Barnsley really is the place of possibilities," she added. STATIC held an open painting day in April so people could contribute to a piece called The Stories on the side of the library in the square.A spray paint art workshop at Goldthorpe Pentecostal Community Church and a drop-in session at the Snap-Tin Cafe were also held to gather people's Stephens, chair of Goldthorpe Town Board, said: "STATIC have done a great job bringing the fantastic vision for the murals to life with help from everyone who came along to the community painting day."It really adds extra colour and vibrance to Horse and Groom Square at the heart of Goldthorpe."Beam, a cultural organisation which works across the north of England, also contributed to the project which was commissioned by Barnsley Council.A council spokesperson said the pieces were part of a package of major artwork projects under way in the Dearne area, funded by the Goldthorpe Town Deal. Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North
CBS News
3 days ago
- Politics
- CBS News
Pittsburgh artist speaks out after murals were found with racist, antisemitic graffiti
Hateful messages were recently found covering renowned Pittsburgh artist Kyle Holbrook's work. Holbrook now plans to take a stand against hate. Holbrook is known for his community murals. So far, he's completed over 800 murals and community art projects across 43 countries and 49 states. His murals are not just works of art, they're a piece of each community's heart. "Over 2,000 people from Oakland, students, teachers, faculty, we're able to help paint it, which was great," said Holbrook. He's currently a Pittsburgh resident, but Holbrook just finished a three-mural series in Oakland, California, about inclusion. He left Oakland to continue painting in other West Coast states, only to find out someone had painted racial and antisemetic graffiti on top of the mural. "(I was) really surprised. It hurts to see," said Holbrook. It wasn't the only one defaced in the past two weeks, though. Hateful images were seen covering a different mural of legendary baseball player Jackie Robinson. "That just happened in Miami. It's a mural that I painted in 2012 about the Negro League," Holbrook said. "The 'n word' right over his whole image. And a swastika as well. And for that same messaging to be on two different murals on two different sides of the country was alarming." It's coast-to-coast damage. "These are cowards who are doing it." Holbrook is recognized for his public art projects, promoting social justice; his work was even displayed in Paris during the 2024 Olympics. He told KDKA-TV that he won't be silenced, and his work won't stop after people vandalized it. "You can't erase history, you can't erase culture, you can't erase me," Holbrook said. Each piece displays vibrant colors, character, and inspiring words. It's a painted space for love, not hate, that he plans on bringing back. "Because good always wins, and hate can't win, and God is on the good side," said Holbrook. Holbrook said his next stop is Seattle, but he hopes to repaint the Miami mural eventually. In the meantime, the hate messages on the mural in Oakland, California, have already been painted over, and it'll be unveiled again in September.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Bus shelter murals appear in town ahead of festival
A number of bus shelters in Box have been brought to life with beautiful murals as a community prepares for a festival designed to celebrate the River Avon. The murals have been painted as part of a community effort by residents and councillors in the town ahead of the Wild Waters Festival, set to kick off next week. Varian Tye, a member of the Box community, said: 'It's a celebration of nature and community, very much grassroots. A lot of times, you get environmental decisions made by authorities – but this was made by the community. 'It shows the talent the community has got. It's trying to put over a colourful and joyful way, and to look at the website. 'The festival is all about a celebration of nature and the community. Local people showing how much they care for the natural environment around them. 'I think it's a really good reflection of local communities getting involved in trying to raise awareness. 'It has made me appreciate the Brook more. It's nice when you come to the bus stop. It's cheerful. There are some good individual pieces that put a smile on your face.' The Wild Waters festival will take place from May 31 to June 15, and aims to celebrate the River Avon. Events will involve communities across the Avon catchment area from Bradford on Avon to Batheaston, including Box and Colerne on the By Brook. The programme will include art workshops, walks, talks, film screenings, and music events. You can find a fuller programme of events here:
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
City of Detroit's arts and culture office hosts student gallery for its headquarters opening
About fifty works of colorful and thematic student art lined the walls and tables of Detroit's Office of Arts, Culture and Entrepreneurship's new headquarters during its opening at the Butzel Family Recreation Center, 7737 Kercheval Ave., on Friday, May 16. Lacey Holmes, ACE's project manager for arts initiatives, said ACE solicited submissions from schools, art teachers and community organizations throughout Detroit. 'What you're seeing is some of the brilliance that's happening in schools across the city,' ACE Director Rochelle Riley said about the gallery. The Kresge Foundation and the Hudson-Webber Foundation sponsored the city gallery and work with ACE to engage the city's next generation of artists, Riley said. The gallery's youngest student artist Ema Aguilar Moreno, 10, attends Achieve Charter Academy. She said her art was inspired by hard workers who stay up from sunrise to sunset. The gallery's oldest students included seniors in high school. Detroit School of Arts senior Cy Proctor had two pieces in the show. One piece meshes robots and machines with Japanese culture, while his other 'less-calculated' piece depicts an octopus, he said. Detroit School of Arts junior Kamren Barnett said his piece conveys 'oneness' and 'tapping into creation,' as the man in his painting touches the milky way. 'This was a whole experience trying to find the best way possible to express myself,' Barnett said. 'I am trying to convey there is no difference between us and creation itself.' Riley said the department aims to show Detroit's youth the importance of art and encourage them to pursue dreams, including careers as poets, historians or Broadway performers. 'Everything we do is to show our children the things they can do and be,' Riley said. 'What they must understand is that art is business, and we're going to make sure that people understand that the creative arts industry is an industry. It is not a hobby.' Artists Dana Hansen and Zirrea Brown plan to study art in college. Hansen, a senior at Detroit School of Arts, plans to major in painting at Wayne State University next year. Hansen said her art teacher picked out which pieces to submit to the gallery and that her three pieces were a part of her Advanced Placement Art portfolio with a 'hair' theme. More: Theaters, arts organizations across Michigan facing crisis after Trump's NEA cuts More: Detroit's College for Creative Studies to mark 100th student exhibition Brown, a junior at Cass Tech High School, said her dream schools include Georgia's Savannah College of Art and Design and Detroit's College for Creative Studies. Brown said she created her piece in the show for an art class assignment with a vampire theme. 'I wanted to make sure that you looked at some of the artists who came out tonight because their work is being recognized,' Riley said to the families and ACE supporters at the opening ceremony in a sparkling cider toast to the artists. 'Remember their names so when they are rich and famous, you should say, 'I knew them when…'' ACE's newest project will provide 43 artists mural space in nine different Detroit allies, Riley said. 'We're taking these really torn up allies that are behind people's houses in nine neighborhoods and turning them into these beautiful outdoor museums with art, new concrete, new sewer work,' Riley said. 'It's almost like having special parks and plazas right behind your house.' Outside of the mural project and art gallery, ACE awards 'creative stars' who have given at least 25 years of service to the Detroit arts. Previous ACE honoree Debra White-Hunt, artistic director and co-founder of Detroit-Windsor Dance Academy, attended the ACE headquarters launch. 'We do as much as we can (with ACE). Arts are who we are,' White-Hunt said. Dance shoes decorated by Detroit-Windsor Academy students were among art displayed in the gallery. White-Hunt said her students decorated shoes because of a display of painted shoes in the studio. ACE began in 2019. It currently has a three-person staff, and its previous location was in the Marygrove Conservancy. Its third annual ACE Honors Ceremony will take place on Friday, May 23, at the Bedrock Tower. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit students display artwork in City's ACE headquarter launch
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Heard of ‘Tacoma's skinniest park'? It brought this neighborhood together
An unexpected sight is nestled behind a Fred Meyer in Tacoma's South End. In between the grocery store and a row of homes, passersby will see color. And lots of it. The intersection of South 72nd and South D streets has for the last two years been home to about 700 feet of murals, community art space and gardening plots – affectionately referred to as 'Tacoma's skinniest park.' Part of the South End Neighborhood Council's effort to beautify the once-blighted area that began two years ago, some say the community space has had an outsized impact. 'The kids in the neighborhood can play in their yards. That's huge,' South End Neighborhood Council vice chair Rachel Kunze told The News Tribune. 'That was not possible three years ago, and that is amazing.' Before the beautification effort kicked off, Kunze said, the area was known for drug activity, overdoses and crime occurring out in the open, which kept parents from letting their kids spend time outdoors. Some were considering moving out, not to mention the rumors that the neighboring Fred Meyer, one of few grocery stores in the area, was on the brink of closing because of the crime. After the neighborhood council put about $140,000 and hours of volunteer labor into the beautification effort, it's now a thriving highlight of the community. You can even find the occasional monkeyshine in the area, South End Neighborhood Council chair Andrea Haug said. 'The first day that we had a community planting party to come in and plant the trees, we just put out a general call to see who showed up,' Kunze said. 'We had some sign ups. It was starting to hit 30. But on the day, 80 people parked in our parking lot and walked around the corner, and we all planted trees that day.' The beautification effort has helped the neighboring Fred Meyer stick around. It donated $2,500 for a community block party in the space in 2023, The News Tribune reported that year. 'People could go to the store because they could walk down the street to get there, and they hadn't been able to in a long time,' Kunze said. Jamese Williams, co-founder of Together Tacoma, which provides mentorship to local youth, most recently brought a group of high-risk kids from the Salishan area to paint their own murals in the space. She didn't give them a specific assignment, and the kids painted whatever they wanted – including Williams, sporting her red hair. 'I don't put the kids in a box,' she said. 'I want to be able to be free in who they are.' Especially with the recent surge in homicides that have often involved youth in Tacoma, she wanted them to feel like they could contribute to their neighborhood and literally be a part of it. 'They weren't anywhere else but there – they were present,' Williams told The News Tribune. 'Some of these kids, they're around a lot. They're seeing too much. Their regular environments are toxic.' The green space isn't technically a park, but its impact has registered on the community regardless. Kunze said the tenor of the 311 calls that come from the surrounding neighborhood changed drastically once the park was established. Instead of neighbors calling authorities to have homeless people arrested, she said, they're calling to see if they can help connect them to resources that will get them shelter indoors. The park did see an influx of homeless people around the time that the city of Lakewood implemented its overnight camping ban, which meant the skinny park was briefly home to another encampment for a little over a month in 2023. With the help of nearby residents and the neighborhood council, the encampment has slowly faded and its residents have been directed to resources to get them into permanent housing, Kunze said. 'Neighbors who know neighbors know who's struggling, and they can kind of pitch in to help each other,' she said. 'Neighbors who are completely disconnected from each other fall through the cracks, and that's where evictions start to happen.' 'It's born out of love,' Haug told The News Tribune.
