MuralArte Guate Newsletter 2017

What is MuralArte Guate?

MuralArte Guate transforms grey public walls into thought provoking works of art, as colourful as Guatemala’s rich history and culture. Founder of the project, artist Carin Steen uses her years of experience as mural painter in Central America to teach children and young adults of remote communities to explore, interpret and express their cultural identity and other themes through murals, using a participative methodology that involves members of the community in creating a public work of art.

2017 has been a colourful year!

Despite so much crap going on all over the world, it has been quite a year for MuralArte Guate! No less than 13 murals were painted in a variety of places: a nursing home, cat and dog shelters, a playground, schools and a day-care centre in Guatemala and the Dominican Republic. It is so much fun and such a rewarding experience to transform a nondescript space into a colourful, happy environment!

Also, MuralArte Guate finally has a real logo and many plans for the new year. For now, please enjoy this year’s achievements!

Doña Trini

What a delight to go back to the nursing home for a third mural and meet old friends again! This time we painted Doña Trini, a 96 year old resident of the home who is still very much alive! She’s not one to sit idly watching TV. Despite her advanced age she is always up and around, helping the staff distributing food or washing the dishes. It was an honour to paint her portrait on the wall of the dining hall.

Location: Nursing Home Fray Rodrigo de la Cruz, Antigua, Guatemala
Volunteer: Henry Navarijo
Dimensions: 4.5 x 2.75m
Sponsors: Jihae Park, Linda Conard, Linda Green, Tessa de Goede, Jim Bader, Ineke & Jan de Smidt
Click here for more information on this mural.

Hazel in Heaven

Time for a completely different venue! Working with he elderly was already a different experience from painting with kids, but I had never painted a mural for dogs! As expected, it was a lot of fun to be surrounded by a canine audience that showed its appreciation by lots of licking and peeing on the wall. Depicted is Hazel, always in for a treat, wishing bones would fall from heaven. Unfortunately Hazel passed away shortly before painting this mural. All the more reason to put her up on the wall, and hoping there will be tons of treats in doggie heaven!

Location: Unidos para los Animales Cat & Dog Shelter, El Hato, Antigua, Guatemala
Dimensions: 4 x 2.75m
Sponsor: Jim Bader
Click here for more information on this mural.

Three Masks and Don Patrocinio

There was one more blank wall at the dining hall in the nursing home in Antigua and I just couldn’t resist. In synchronization with two previous murals we painted a portrait of one of the residents (Don Patrocinio, who passed away just a month before completing this mural) in sepia against a colourful background of Guatemalan crafts.

Location: Nursing Home Fray Rodrigo de la Cruz, Antigua, Guatemala
Volunteers: Henry Navarijo and Alice Lee
Dimensions: 4 x 2.5m
Sponsors: Ann Kitchen, Amanda Gibson, Alice Lee, Ana Maria Ackermans, Suzanne Picot and Wendy Russell
Click here for more information on this mural.

The Universe, The Forest and Metamorphosis

It’s one of my favourite places, Brillo de Sol, educational centre for kids with special needs. Rather than numbers, the grades have names. Last year I already painted the classroom of The Kittens. Now it was time for the upstairs’ corridor where the students of The Universe, The Forest and Metamorphosis receive their classes.

Location: Brillo de Sol, San Gaspar Vivar, Antigua, Guatemala
Volunteers: Judy Sadlier. Gwynn Thoma, Debbie Pate and Christian
Dimensions: 18.65 x 2.75m
Sponsors: Judy Sadlier. Gwynn Thoma, Debbie Pate and Ilene Kradin
Click here for more information on this mural.

Children’s Rights

This mural has been planned for November of 2016, but the project was delayed last minute due to bad weather. This time it was sunshine all around so the work could begin! This mural promotes children’s rights on the wall of an elementary school. The children helped paint and also received colouring pages of each section of the mural.

Location: Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic
Volunteer: Erik van Middendorp
Dimensions: 24 x 2.75m
Sponsors: Stichting Colour4Kids
Click here for more information on this mural.

Children’s Rights II

One more mural, though much smaller, on children’s rights, painted at the Colegio Evangélico Asher, El Batey, a school with about 300 students, mostly Haitian migrants.

Location: La Unión, Dominican Republic
Volunteer: Erik van Middendorp
Dimensions: 3 x 2.75m
Sponsors: Stichting Colour4Kids
Click here for more information on this mural.

The Mirabal Sisters

As requested by the director I painted a portrait of Patria, Minerva and María Teresa Mirabal, the famous sisters, nicknamed the Butterflies, who opposed the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo.

Location: La Unión, Dominican Republic
Volunteer: Erik van Middendorp
Dimensions: 3 x 2.75m
Sponsors: Stichting Colour4Kids
Click here for more information on this mural.

Ocean Scene

I had my eye on an ugly piece of wall next to the school in my neighbourhood for a while, but when I asked the director if I could paint it, it turned out the wall wasn’t property of the school. BUT… she said, if I wanted to pant a mural inside the school, please do so! Hence the transformation of the decaying kindergarten classroom into a colourful ocean scene, right before the25th anniversary of the school!

Location: Escuela Rural Mixta San Bartolomé Becerra, Antigua, Guatemala
Volunteer: Debbie Pate
Dimensions: 22 x 2.75m
Sponsors: Debbie Pate, Judy Sadlier, Ana María Ackermans & Brooke Campbell, Tommy O’Donnell, Tessa de Goede and Sue Bohenstengel
Click here for more information on this mural:

Wall of Fame 

Back to the dogs! Surrounded by dogs of all sorts and sizes, we painted this wall of fame of some of UPA’s most memorable residents. Great fun and a pleasure to do for this organization that does fabulous work for cats and dogs in Antigua.

Location: Unidos para los Animales Cat & Dog Shelter, El Hato, Antigua, Guatemala
Volunteers: Henry Navarijo and Paúl Nuñez
Dimensions: 6.5 x 3.1m
Sponsors: Noah
Click here for more information on this mural.

Matisse in the Clouds

This was a great project! During 5 days, with10 pairs of hands, we completely transformed this day-care centre into a fabulous new learning environment, inspired by Matisse’s cut-outs. The children also received an activity book that turns these paintings into a 3-dimensional educational space.

Location: Daycare Centre Las Nubes, Acatenango, Guatemala
Volunteers: Staff of Las Nubes, Linsy, Mauro and Miguel Raymundo
Sponsor: Stichting Colour4Kids
Click here for more information on this mural.

Kittens!!!

And I don’t paint just kids and dogs! Here some kittens I painted at a cat sanctuary in Antigua, with a little help from my feline friends!

Location: PAAWS Cat Sanctuary, Antigua, Guatemala
Sponsor: PAAWS/ MuralArte Guate
Click here for more information on this mural.

A Dog and his Boy

The playground in my neighbourhood was until recently rather deserted and in shambles. But the neighbours have repaired the swings and slides. Soon there will be a new fence and plenty of trees and flowers. I was happy to contribute with a mural to bring a bit of colour into this place that is now frequently visited by kids from the ‘hood.

Location: Playground San Bartolomé Becerra, Antigua Guatemala
Volunteers: Yeimy, Violeta, Luis, kensy, Lupe, Kenia, Diego and Rogelio.
Dimensions: 9.5 x 4m
Sponsor: Jim Bader and Jasmijn Velzing
Click here for more information on this mural.

Small Talk

And the last one this year! This mural was supposed to go on the outdoor wall of the municipal building in my neighbourhood, but permission from the municipality hadn't come through yet. Instead, the local authorities offered me this indoor wall of the municipality building, much used for celebrations, meetings, zumba classes and at night it's a shelter for the homeless when the temperatures drop. I didn't complain, was very happy to paint right on centre stage!

Location: Municipal Building San Bartolomé Becerra, Antigua Guatemaal
Dimensions: 4 x 3mSponsor: Jim Bader

Sponsoring

As word goes around, more and more requests for murals keep coming in from schools and local projects. This is great, because it means that the art is truly appreciated. Unfortunately, most local schools and initiatives can not afford a professional mural. And that’s where I need some help…

Really, this whole project wouldn’t exist without the generous support of all the sponsors mentioned above. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

There are many reasons why to support a mural project. Murals not only make the world a bit more beautiful and colourful, they can have a huge impact in the community. The 65 meter-long mural I painted last year in the community of Chimachoy has become the pride and joy of the village, a real landmark. Murals can educate, transmit ideas or unify people. They are fun to create and will last a long time.

MuralArte Guate’s murals are painted with the highest quality paint (Comex) on well prepared walls, for the best and longest lasting results. Donations go towards paint, paintbrushes, transportation and other expenses. The cost of a mural depends entirely on its location, dimensions and design, starting at $250 for a small mural in the vicinity of Antigua. Some mural projects include workshops for the participants, others are painted my just me, but always with a design developed in collaboration with the community in question.

Any donation is much appreciated! You can donate any amount towards the first upcoming project, or an entire mural by itself. A mural can also be part of an “exchange project”, in which children from schools in different parts of the world paint murals with the same themes. If you want to sponsor a mural with a specific theme that’s also a possibility. And if you want to come and help paint, that too is an option! The sky is the limit as long as I have enough donations to keep on painting!

For the latest crowd funding campaign, please visit my page on YouCaring. 

You can also donate through the PayPal button on this page or using my email address (carinsteen@yahoo.com). For deposits on my Dutch bank account, please send me a message so I can send you the bank info.

Project Requests:

Here some pending projects I’d like to develop in 2018. More to come!

Municipal Building, San Bartolomé Becerra (Sponsored, in process)

A mural on the side of the municipal building, overlooking a much polluted green area. The message will obviously be en environmental one!

Public School, San Bartolomé Becerra

The director of the school has asked me to paint the sidewall of the school, overlooking the street. Theme free, as long as it includes the emblem of the school. ($400)

Comunidad La Esperanza, Chimaltenango

A project involving all high school students of this project, a series of workshops to develop the theme and the painting of a series of murals. ($700)

Escuela Proyecto La Esperanza, Jocotenango

A project involving all high school students of this Project, a series of workshops to develop the theme and the painting of a mural. ($600)

Public School. Acatenango

Painting of a mural at the public school of an impoverished coffee picking community. ($500)

Brillo de Sol, San Gaspar Vivar,

A final mural at the Brillo de Sol educational centre for kids with special needs, this time for the “Scientists” students (grade 7). ($300)

Daycare Centre San Bartolomé Becerra
A request for a big mural on the patio and three smaller ones in the corridor and hallway of this small daycare centre that caters to 30 kids, age 6months-6 years, from the poorest families in my neighbourhood. ($500)

Niños de Jesús After-school Activities
Request for a mural and art classes from a local NGO that offers after-school activities for kids in Pastores. ($400)

Also high on my wish-list: a ladder (so I don’t have to borrow one or risk my life on rackety hand-made wooden ladders!) and a printer with continuous ink supply, to save on printing.

That was it for now! Thank you for your time, and especially thanks for any donations! Wishing you happy holidays and the very best for 2018! May it be colourful!

Carin Steen

December 2017

Antigua Guatemala

For more information, please visit:

www.facebook.com/MuralArte.Antigua/

www.carinsteen.com

carinsteen@yaoo.com