Speedway CorRIDOR MURAL PROJECT
My first public mural project!
This is in collaboration with Alley Cat Murals and the UofA Poetry Center. My mural is a homage to mobility justice and a celebration of how people move through the city, especially self-powered transportation so it’s inspiring to see that movement as I painted the mural along a busy tranportation corridor. Six Tucson artists are collaborated in this project to paint walls along Speedway Blvd by the University of Arizona. Each artist was inspired by a local poet/poem to create their mural. T.C. Tolbert is someone I admire as a human and writer. I’m really inspired by T.C.’s current work in building out safer spaces and skill sets in the trades for Women, Queer, Trans, and Femme of Center people through various projects (BOSS - @buildingout; The Outlaw Project - @theoutlawproject1). I love the playful way s/he writes and the vulnerability in sharing so much of his personal story. Something Tolbert says is that “s/he is a human in love with humans doing human things” and this mural is people doing just that. My work is usually smaller scale, so it's been a fun challenge getting into murals and challenging myself to paint big.
IT’S A VISION OF HOW THE CITYSCAPE CAN LOOK WHEN EVERYONE HAS ACCESS TO SAFER SPACES AND MOBILITY. I HOPE THE MURAL INSPIRES INTERCONNECTION AND A PRACTICE OF ENVISIONING SAFER PUBLIC SPACES.
SYMBOLS:
The kite tattoo on the skater is a tribute to the annual Made For Flight project that T.C. started in 2010, “ a youth empowerment project that utilizes creative writing and kite building to celebrate trans lives, develop trans competency, and create a living memorial commemorating transgender people who were murdered in the previous year.”
Various birds and flowers are used throughout his poetry and I painted finches and poppies on the outer walls. It was spring when I painted this mural and the wildflowers were in full bloom, especially the poppies. The poppy is a national symbol of peace and perseverance of the people of Palestine. The active occupation and genocide of Palestinians lays heavy in our hearts and I wanted to share that small symbol of solidarity as our liberation (people, plants, animals, earth) is interconnected.
Location of Murals: Speedway Blvd between Park Ave and Campbell Ave, along the university; 3 on northside and 3 on southside.
Location of my Mural: North side of Speedway next to a bus stop, by Warren Ave. It’s along a cool merging of transit. The tram goes under the roadway, the city bus (#4 route) stops by every 15mins, people are walking, biking, skating.
IN THE NEWS & INTERVIEWS:
