Convening

Murals: Cali, Colombia

• Sports and Culture
• Global Leadership
• Sports and Cultural Diplomacy
• Empowering Women and Girls
• Energy
• Private Sector

The group of artists with the completed mural at the end of the day Beginning May 26, 2015, Buffalo, New York-based artist Augustina Droze spent three weeks in Cali, Colombia, working with local artists, community members, and students. With staff from the Centro Cultural Colombo Americano (CCCA), who helped organize logistics and found mural sites throughout the city, Augustina created not just one, but four collaborative murals, highlighting such themes as social inclusion, the environment, and women’s empowerment.

The group starts working on the indoor mural Each artist contributed designs for the mural The group working quickly to finish the mural Quick progress of the mural The day was a flurry of artistic activity The mural is entitled “Unity” The group discusses ideas for the mural The final design includes three portraits of women embellished by natural elements One of the artists begins mocking up a sketch of the mural The group looks at the sketches together The group with their sketches at CCCA’s South Branch location The mural is being painted on superboard mounted on the side of the building The mural site Augustina begins painting the detailed black-and-white portraits while local artists sketch details Carefully sketching in details The three portraits are based on photographs of local women The mural will be completed and unveiled during a public ceremony The project has garnered lots of press, including TV, radio, and print media Augustina and one of her assistants being interviewed Interviewing one of the local participating artists Augustina speaking with press about her mural arts exchange Examples of press coverage include the front page of a regional paper The story was also featured on the front page of the Culture Section in the local paper Augustina was also spoke on Cali’s cultural radio station, Clásica 88.5 Augustina during her morning talk on Clásica 88.5 Three murals in three weeks wasn’t enough for Augustina: with extra canvases, she and the group of This paneled mural will be on display at one of CCCA’s other locations Augustina teachers her grid technique during a mural arts workshop with adults Augustina begins a demonstration during her first workshop Workshop participants begin painting after learning about Augustina’s technique and style Augustina works on a portrait during the adult workshop Participants working on their portraits Participants working on their portraits Augustina checks on participants’ progress during the workshop Augustina working on another portrait The workshop included a group critique The adult workshop participants with their paintings The adult workshop participants with their paintings Augustina’s second workshop was for kids The kids each painted a small panel that would become part of a larger group piece Young participants working hard on their project Participants painted scenes that reflected their idea of peace and social inclusion Participants painted scenes that reflected their idea of peace and social inclusion Participants gather to view their completed works The panels will be mounted in a nearby park as a permanent public art display Augustina also led an artist portfolio review with local artists one evening The mural included themes on cultural collaboration and dialogue between Colombia and the United States Project summary Murals: Cali, Colombia | June 2015 Regions: Western Hemisphere Countries: Colombia Impact Areas: Sports and Cultural Diplomacy , Empowering Women and Girls , Energy Program Areas: Sports and Culture , Global Leadership Partners: Private Sector See Program Page .