"Semillas de la Diaspora" by Betsy Casañas, 2023
“Working with Live Well Springfield, I knew that the mural was going to have a theme that focused on environmental justice but I was surprised to learn from residents that Springfield has among the highest rates of asthma in the country. I chose this particular image of Brendalis Cepeda, a member of Bomba de Aqui, because in the traditional folkloric music of Puerto Rican Bomba, the person holding the maraca is the one who decides the tempo that others will follow - the person leading a group. On the maraca is an image of Atabey, a Taino indigenous symbol for fertility or mother earth. Surrounding her are several plants that were part of a study run by NASA to purify the air with plants. She represents the many women who are the first step in changing the impact that the environment has had on Springfield by empowering folks with small attainable goals that can transform the environment for generations to come.” Betsy CasañasSeveral hundred people helped to paint this mural during the Springfield Jazz and Roots Festival.The Live Well Springfield Climate Justice Initiative is a community group dedicated to raising awareness about the impact of climate change on Springfield's health and quality of life. The Coalition is organized by the Public Health Institute of WMass, and partners with Wayfinders, Arise for Social Justice, Neighbor 2 Neighbor, and the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission. The coalition hopes to continue climate justice awareness by advocating for policies that could increase health, impact climate change, and address racial equity in Springfield.IG: @bzcasanasThis mural is located at 470 Chestnut St.
"Remembering Ben Ramos," by Roc Blackblock, 2023
Roc BlackBlock is from Barcelona Spain and has been painting murals across Europe and Latin America for 20 years. This is his first mural in the US. His work focuses on social movements, and new ways of understanding public space within communities and a city. He has created several public art collaborations with the European Observatory on Memories, including “Mural in remembrance of the victims of the Holocaust” and “Past and present of a strike. 100th anniversary of La Canadenca”.This mural honors North End resident Ben Ramos. Mr. Ramos was Springfield's first Latino Police and Fire Commissioner, and helped found many organizations dedicated to serving the Puerto Rican community in Springfield. He also mentored and helped many Latino people run for elected office. In this neighborhood, he was also known for helping people build lives and community in ways that didn't draw public attention. He opened a neighborhood grocery store that sold vegetables, fruits and other products from Puerto Rico. Families who had recently moved to Springfield from Puerto Rico were able to purchase food on credit, and for many of them, he never made them pay. He also organized activities like domino tournaments for people in the neighborhood to connect with each other and build new community connections.IG: @rocblackblockThis mural is located at 2180 Main St.
"The North End" by Vincent Ballentine, 2023
Vincent Ballentine is a multi-disciplined visual artist who has worked across the US and internationally and has been commissioned to create work for the NCAA, MTV, BET, and festivals such as Wall Therapy, O-positive, and Meeting of Styles in Germany. In 2020 he represented the US State Department in Ethiopia as an ambassador for hip hop. He also earned an Emmy for his performance in MLB Network’s “Fall Colors,” where a time-lapse recording of himself painting creates the backdrop for post animations.This mural celebrates the North End neighborhood and the life of Miguel Gonzalez. Mr. Gonzalez lived a few blocks from here for most of his life. He was a performer, singer, and ambassador of traditional Puerto Rican music with his group, Asi Canta La Montaña, both in Puerto Rico and in the United States. Mr. Gonzalez was named "Pico de Oro" by Don Luis Miranda (the original Pico de Oro) and Luis Morales Ramos, who gave him such a nickname after seeing him in a troubadour competition. Mr. Gonzalez was awarded the key to the City of Cidra, Puerto Rico and the key to the City of Springfield and was Grand Marshall of Springfield’s Puerto Rican Day Parade. He is fondly remembered and sorely missed by many people in this neighborhood and beyond.IG: @vballentine99This mural is located at 2645 Main St.
"Learning Inside out," designed by GoodSpace Murals, painted by Gabriela Sepulveda, Melissa Pandina & crew, 2022
This mural was designed from input from the students of Gerena Elementary and the Conservatory of the Arts and designed by Greta McLain of GoodSpace Murals. It was painted by a team of local artists trained through the Community Mural Institute, with the help of more than 100 Gerena families and neighbors. This mural was painted using the GoodSpace Murals method of community-engaged mural making. Learn more about GoodSpace Murals hereWith 20 years of mural making experience, Greta uses muralism to explore the ways that art can bring communities together, the power of visual language to activate voice, and the potential of art as a vehicle for hands-on organizing and educating. She has created over 60 murals in and around Minnesota, Tennessee, Ohio, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Cuba, Argentina, Mexico, and France. Greta lives in Guanajuato, MX but runs GSM out of Minneapolis, MN, and travels around the country/world muraling and teaching wherever community art can be activated as a tool for positive community engagement.IG: @goodspacemurals @community.mual.instituteThis mural is located at Linda's Park, 3065 Main St.
"Birds of a Feather," by Justin Suarez, 2023
“My artistic voice is born from a deep love of wildlife, fostered at an early age by my mother, who had a Doctorate in animal behavior. As an adult, I have continued to nurture this connection to nature through the hands-on work I do with birds of prey and other animals at Wild Wings Inc. Building personal relationships with these wild species has informed both my work and my life beyond anything I could have envisioned in my youth. By depicting these natural species on a larger-than-life scale, my hope is for the viewer to be able to appreciate these species in a new way, and explore their own connection to the natural world. I believe that awareness is foundational in all work toward conservation, and thus view work such as mine as integral to the protection of vital habitats and ecosystems.”The 5 birds Justin painted for Gerena Elementary School are the Puerto Rican Owl, Spindalis, Kingfisher, Amazon Parrot and Puerto Rican Tody. Justin is the co-founder of Roc Paint Division, the City of Rochester’s Youth Mural Arts Program. Roc Paint Division’s mission is to beautify the city through mural arts while providing employment and training opportunities for developing young artists.IG: @aerosolkingdomThis mural is located on Gerena Elementary, 200 Birnie Ave.
"Sensorial Fragmentation," by Colectivo Morivivi, 2022
Colectivo Moriviví is an all-women artistic collective that has been producing public art and artivism since 2013. The change we seek to generate is a social one, promoting community organizing as the most important value and one that really leads to the prosperity of a people. It is our contribution to an increasingly difficult world, with challenges that we have to deal with collectively, with activism, in every sense of the word.Gerena school families helped to paint this mural, which builds on the idea of learning through the senses, and the imagery represents the act of exploration through the 5 senses. From left to right, it’s hearing, touch, sight, and smell. We incorporated the butterflies and the hummingbirds to connect with the “Learning Inside Out,” painted on the other entrance to Gerena.” - Colectivo MoriviviThis mural was painted using the GoodSpace Murals method of community-engaged mural making. Learn more about GoodSpace Murals hereIG: @colectivo_moriviviThis mural is located at Gerena Elementary, 200 Birnie Ave.
"Perservere," By Muraleslian, 2022
Pictured in the mural are two YouthBuild students, Iggy and Rahim and two YouthBuild instructors. Youth Build offers a second chance for youth and young adults to finish their high school education and learn a trade while earning a stipend and on the job training. Youth Build students worked with Lian to choose the word “Persevere,” shown as a tattoo on Iggy’s arm, as the theme of for mural about their work in the program.“My artwork takes a critical view of social, political and cultural issues while celebrating struggle and mutual aid. Having engaged subjects as diverse as the refugee crisis, prisoner aid and feminist solidarity, my murals utilize familiar visual images, arranging them into new conceptually layered murals.The goal of my artwork is to be part of the public sphere, to promote public discourse and make the community's voice heard.I grew up in East Bridgewater, MA and I have been living in Spain for 20 years. The message of this mural is resilience, personal responsibility and community leading to a better future.” - muraleslianIG: @muraleslian
"Be the Bridge," Community Mural Institute Master Class with GoodSpace Murals, 2023
"Be the Bridge" is a mural honoring the late Jafet Robles as well as the Connecticut River Valley YouthBuild. According to Joesiah Gonzalez, Director of NNCC Youth Services and member of the Springfield School Committee, “This mural is a tremendous opportunity to celebrate the young people of YouthBuild and the importance of both reaching out to help others and to take hold of the hands that are extended to you. By partnering with Common Wealth Murals we were able to involve the students, family, and the neighborhood in the painting of this mural which we hope will inspire others for many years to come."Jafet Robles was a North End resident who was murdered in 2017. Maria Elena Letona, the executive director of Neighbor to Neighbor at the time of Jafet’s murder, wrote “Jafet was our Springfield Chapter lead organizer. More than that, Jafet was the heart of N2N’s organizing work. He was fierce, fearless and relentless in his work to end mass incarceration. He had deep, passionate love for Puerto Rico, her people, and her independence. He quickly would become curious, find out on his own, and readily embrace the struggles of all people, keenly understanding that all our struggles are connected deep at the roots. His love for his work was only surpassed by the love for his people. He fought for your liberation, for my liberation, for the liberation of us all. Jafet challenged us all to think deeply and intentionally on our legacy: “What do you want to be remembered for?”The mural was designed by GoodSpace Murals and painted by 6 local artists participating in a Community Mural Institute Master Class. Jafet’s family and friends, and hundreds of North End residents helped to paint the mural. The Community Mural Institute is co-facilitated by GoodSpace and Common Wealth Murals and trains artists in community-engaged mural making.This mural was painted using the GoodSpace Murals method of community-engaged mural making. IG: @community.mural.institute @goodspacemuralsThis mural is located at 197 Plainfield St.
"Grow" Wane One, 2022
Wane One has been an active and progressive participant in the NYC graffiti community for 36 years, since 1983 when he was 13. As early as 1988, Wane expanded his work to other media and surfaces, including acrylic and airbrush on canvas and clothing and graphic design. Wane has designed for legendary hip-hop groups and artists like Gangstarr, Jeru the Damager and Group Home and well-known brands such as Nike, Reebok, New Balance and RYU.In 1991 Wane One painted his first commissioned mural. Since that time, Wane has painted over 40 public murals in New York City, numerous other cities in the US, and Germany, Sweden, Canada, South Africa, Australia, Denmark, France, Norway, and China. His work has been shown in more than 20 solo and group gallery exhibits around the world, and he is featured in 30 books and numerous magazines.IG: waneonecodThis mural is located at 595 Main St.
"The Story" ARCY, 2022
The Story celebrates the neighborhood's Italian Heritage, and cafes as a gathering place for communities. The man on the far left is telling a story, four men listen intently, and the man on the far right is taking a nap. The men second and third from the left are the grandfathers of the family that has owned and run La Fiorentina for 3 generations. That portion of the mural was painted with dozens of neighborhood residents.Known for his paint-splashed style of large-scale street art, ARCY has been defining his unique style for over a decade. In 2015, ARCY crossed North America with a live painting mural tour, where he took his skills on the road, spray painting 8′ x 12′ live event murals in front of thousands of onlookers in many of the largest cities across the nation. Since then, ARCY has created hundreds of live murals and permanent large-scale works throughout North America, Australia, and Europe. ARCY has created work for The Smithsonian Institute, Major League Baseball, America’s National Parks Service, and is currently developing a collaborative body of work for The Walt Disney Company as a Disney Fine Artist.IG: @arcyartThis mural is located at 883 Main St.
"The Story" ARCY, 2022
The Story celebrates the neighborhood's Italian Heritage, and cafes as a gathering place for communities. The man on the far left is telling a story, four men listen intently, and the man on the far right is taking a nap. The men second and third from the left are the grandfathers of the family that has owned and run La Fiorentina for 3 generations. That portion of the mural was painted with dozens of neighborhood residents.Known for his paint-splashed style of large-scale street art, ARCY has been defining his unique style for over a decade. In 2015, ARCY crossed North America with a live painting mural tour, where he took his skills on the road, spray painting 8′ x 12′ live event murals in front of thousands of onlookers in many of the largest cities across the nation. Since then, ARCY has created hundreds of live murals and permanent large-scale works throughout North America, Australia, and Europe. ARCY has created work for The Smithsonian Institute, Major League Baseball, America’s National Parks Service, and is currently developing a collaborative body of work for The Walt Disney Company as a Disney Fine Artist.IG: @arcyartThis mural is located at 883 Main St.
