Guatemala mural

Our vision for the mural to be displayed at 2966 West 25th Street, Cleveland, OH 44113, located in the Clark-Fulton neighborhood will be inspiring, cultural and celebrate diversity. The aim is to embrace culture, while elevating the neighborhood with beauty and vitality. Our approach for the artwork is to depict and highlight the country of Guatemala and symbolize its artistic expression and radiance and honor Central America and Latin culture in the area. The artwork will convey what nature has to offer; growth and progression while representing the vibrant art scene in Cleveland

Guatemala is best known for its volcanic landscape, fascinating Mayan culture and the colorful colonial city of Antigua. Our vision for the mural is to depict the natural landscape and colorful plants such as vibrant hibiscus, graceful Gerbera flowers and the tall elegant calla lilies in the foreground. We are painting the country’s symbolic birds; the Resplendent quetzals which are also known as Guatemalan quetzals. This will represent rebirth, intelligence, freedom, self-expression, integrity, glory and progression. The background depicts La Feria de Barriletes Gigantes, (the Festival of the Giant Kites). The handmade kites fly in the sky to honor loved ones and the departed. The scenery as a whole will represent healing energy offering a sense of balance and harmony.

Murals in Cleveland are essential to enhance our community with visual communication and to embrace art, culture and cultivate our perspective here in the city. This mural will beautify this old weathered wall that is present, liven up the neighborhood, to create excitement on the West 25th Street corridor and the Clark-Fulton neighborhood. This highly visible mural would attract commerce, help bring customers to pre-existing locations, and boost the area. It will help express and celebrate the Latin American culture - specifically Guatemala, that identifies this particular part of town.

In order to implement the mural, we have a team of four artists who play key roles into the development of the artwork. Each artist is investing time, energy, creativity into this project. The leader of the project is Cleveland artist Tessa LeBaron who is creating and painting the design. We have a Cleveland artist on the team who is from Guatemala, Hector Castellanos Lara. With Hector’s input, he will put forth the spirit of Guatemala in regard to heritage, expression and imagery in the design. Artists Shawn Mishak and Paige Knoefel will be painting assistants and utilizing their creative skills.

We are confident the mural will beautify the neighborhood while stimulating traffic and giving the people who live here a sense of pride and harmony while attracting people to the area. Guatemalan imagery will be symbolic and it will offer an opportunity to teach people about art, while inviting them in to learn and embrace this culture. I feel this mural will offer inspiration, excitement and enrichment to this neighborhood.

Our supply costs are funded by a grant from Neighborhood Connections, So we are currently raising money for our team of artists to create a mural on this 90ft wide by 17ft high wall.

money is used to donate to artists and everyone who helped with wall prep

opportunity/need

This mural will be unique to the area because there aren’t any other Guatemalan murals in Cleveland that embrace this imagery.  The Clark-Fulton neighborhood is a thriving community full of vibrancy and diversity. The Clark-Fulton neighborhood is home to over 11,000 residents and the densest population of Hispanic and Latino residents in the state of Ohio. The projected mural would catch people from afar and would receive alot of positive attention from passersbys. 

A team of four Cleveland artists will utilize their skills to transform the area.  Public art adds enormous value to the cultural, aesthetic and economic vitality of a community. This mural will contribute to the community's identity, foster community pride and create a sense of belonging, and enhance the quality of life for residents and visitors. Transforming this wall will create community engagement. The benefits for community to have a mural are many. They get a chance to express their identity; who they are, where they came from, and what's important to them.

The process of upgrading and conserving the heritage elements using public art will highlight the uniqueness of local culture. The mural will accommodate new comfortable pedestrian walkways linking the public arts with a continuous pedestrian system. In other words, the whole city is transformed, not only the wall but the building use and the whole environment around the buildings. The involvement of a local and international artist with the local community in participating to design and paint the mural on the wall can regenerate the city socially to strengthen the social bond and increase interaction the locals and visitors. This involvement will enhance the sense of belonging and sense of community which will then create a healthy environment for the city and to foster a good relationship between the visitors with the community.

There are a few other murals in the area. On the other end of the street there is an abstract mural that has received attention with it’s eye popping color where viewers and pedestrians stop to take photos and converse about the mural.  These interactions are a positive reflection on the city of Cleveland and create community engagement.  Our unique Guatemalan mural along with the other murals in the area will compliment each other and transform the area together.