MURAL OF CHESTNUT COMMUNITY’S HISTORY CREATED BY COLOR SQUAD
Creative Action will host a mural dedication on Sunday, October 18, at their building to celebrate the history of Austin’s Chestnut neighborhood. Last summer, the organization received a $75,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts’ “Our Town” program. This grant has supported community engagement activities at its new headquarters and community arts center in Central East Austin, the Center for Creative Action. The “Our Town” grant helped the organization with ongoing creativity programs for all ages at the Center, free Community Art Sunday events for the surrounding neighborhood, and a community mural project.
One of Creative Action’s many programs is Color Squad, a teen program employing young artists ages 14-18. Color Squad teens engage with Austin communities to design murals, sculptures, and installations that enhance public spaces and reflect their history. Color Squad has helped restore the “Greetings from Austin” postcard mural with the original artists and designed original signs for local East Austin businesses. Last fall, Color Squad launched a far-reaching community mural project in East Austin as part of the NEA “Our Town” program. Through historical research, interviews with long-time neighborhood residents, guest artist workshops, guided tours by Austin’s African American Cultural Heritage District, and community design charrettes, Color Squad teens designed a colorful mural reflecting the theme “Map Your Roots/Routes.”
Color Squad teens and key community contributors will hold a dedication of the mural as part of Creative Action’s free family event Community Art Sunday, sponsored by H-E-B. The mural will run along Austin’s urban rail line and will be seen and enjoyed by hundreds of commuters and visitors to the area daily. Capital Metro has partnered on the project to help the community learn how public art can support civic life, such as access to and use of public transit.
Our mural dedication will include a short program with remarks from:
John Michael Cortez, Chief of Staff for Mayor Steve Adler
Edna Rambo, Long-time Chestnut resident and mural contributor
Gerardo Castillo, Senior Vice-President & Chief of Staff at Capital Metro
Lisa Byrd, Austin’s African American Cultural Heritage District
Karen LaShelle, Executive Director at Creative Action
Join us for the event!
Community Art Sunday: Celebrate Chestnut
Sunday, October 18, 2015
2 pm – 5 pm Mural Dedication at 3:30 pm
Center for Creative Action, 2921 E. 17th St Bldg B Austin, TX 78702
