Holyoke Youth Mural Unveiled

Mural painted by Holyoke High School students depicting perspectives of Holyoke unveiled
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HOLYOKE, Mass. --
The unveiling and dedication of a mural painted by five Holyoke High School seniors took place on Thursday, December 17th at 3:30 p.m. at The Victory Theater, 85 Suffolk St. in Holyoke. Warm refreshments and reception followed at the MIFA office, 56 Suffolk St. Suite 300. The students worked with UMass Amherst graduate student, Carla Wojczuk, as part of a Mural Arts Workshop in The CONNECTIONS After School Program at Holyoke High.
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The nine-panel mural depicts a past, present, and future of Holyoke, said Wojczuk, a community arts facilitator and student in the School of Educations Social Justice Education program. It is the culmination of an eight-week arts, dialog and counter-storytelling workshop that Wojczuk held at the school for youth to strengthen inter-personal relationships, explore stories of personal and collective importance, and encourage social action and reflection through community-based mural making.
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The five Holyoke High School student artists are: Gesenia Gutierrez, Fernando Ortiz, Jesenia Paredes, Andy Maldonado, and Elahn Santiago, all in 12th grade.
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The Massachusetts International Festival of the Arts (MIFA) offered a public home for the mural on an exterior wall of the Victory Theater, which the arts organization recently purchased. The Victory Theater building is located on the corner of Chestnut and Suffolk Streets in downtown Holyoke. In addition to the unveiling of the mural, a showcase of work by students in CONNECTIONS enrichment courses was presented.
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For more information contact Carla Wojczuk at (303) 908-5392 cwojczuk@educ.umass.edu
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This project is supported by a grant from the Massachusetts Department of Education. This material does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Massachusetts Department of Education or the federal government.
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www.videosforjustice.org

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• holyoke
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• youth
• high
• school
• carla
• wojczuk
• students
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• justice
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[mshotelbizarre]

That's Great! It's awesome to see more youth in Holyoke work together to show the world that it can become a truly beatiful place but only if together we work to get it that way. NICE JOB!!!

[VTLaur]

Beautiful, Sammy! I love your work.

Peace,

Lauren