Tomorrow Will be Better y Mañana Será Bonito

2024

Community mural in collaboration with Neponset River Watershed Association (NepRWA) and PowerCorps Boston | Pope John Paul II Park, Dorchester, MA

This mural was collaboratively designed with cohorts at PowerCorps Boston during workshops I led with NepRWA staff on public art and spatial justice. During these workshops, we brainstormed inclusive outdoor activities, reflected on childhood memories, and shared beloved community traditions. Their insights on land stewardship and labor throughout their experience as PowerCorps crew members informed my decision to honor their work in the final design. Their work in Pope John Paul II Park specifically involved cutting away invasive Japanese knotweed — a grueling and physically demanding task — I paid homage to their efforts in the foreground of the mural so that native plants and local neighborhoods can thrive.

I created the mural with a paint-by-numbers style outline. I then invited PowerCorps members to paint in the various gaps like a giant coloring book on the wall, so that even team members with limited painting experience could confidently participate in the process of bringing the mural — and their ideas — to life.

Special thanks to Roy Zhu for their incredible help and support on this project, as well as the Benjamin Moore Drive-In Paint Mart and the Family Hardware Corporation in Dorchester, MA, for agreeing on short notice to donate hundreds of dollars worth of supplies, including paint, spackle, brushes, and other tools, to make this project happen.

To read more about the project, visit: https://neponset.org/neponset-greenways-mural-project-fall-2024/