This project is very dear to my heart and I think it’s my
most international mural I’ve ever created! The models are from Eritrea, Yemen,
Syria and Senegal. The students who helped paint the mural are from Russia, Yemen,
Eritrea, Afghanistan, Ghana and Ethiopia. The background designs are from Marocco,
Mexico, the Netherlands, Ghana and Ukraine. The location: Mundus College Zuid
in Amsterdam Buitenveldert, the Netherlands.
Mundus College offers special education to young people who
have often only recently arrived in the Netherlands. In so-called transition
classes they receive intensive language lessons and personal guidance to find
their place in Dutch education and society. The school has small classes and focuses
equally on cognitive and social-emotional development.
My good friend Suzanne van der Linden is coordinator and teacher at the school and that’s how I found my wall… I first visited the school back in April and was immediately taken by how relaxed and convivial the school is. When I started painting, there was no real plan on how to proceed. It was the end of the schoolyear; some of the students had to take exams and there were plenty of other activities going on. I had already prepared a detailed design, based on school photographer Cees Glastra van Loon’s portraits of the students. Once I arrived at the school, I simply set up in the auditorium and started prepping the wall. In no time I had three girls helping me, each of them very talented! A few more students helped out for a few hours here and there, but by far the most persistent and talented were Ranya and Afina, they just couldn’t stop! I thought it interesting that it was mostly girls helping out, although most of the students are male.
The people depicted in the mural are students too. I was a bit nervous about
using real students’ portraits, because you never know whether the portrait
will please the sitter, but they were all okay with the result. Quite proud
actually. It took us three days to complete the mural and it has been one of
the most enjoyable experiences painting a mural. The students enjoyed painting
so much, they were just glowing. Hopefully this was just the introduction to a
much bigger project in the future!
A big thanks to staff and students of MundusZuid for the collaboration and good care! Many thanks to Selina Afowerki Brahane (Eritrea), Kahled Al Fadli (Yemen), Zenap Zaynab Ashmed Abdi (Syria) and Dembah Bah (Senegal) for lending their facefot this mural. And of course, a mega thank-you to volunteer painters Ranya Qudais (Yemen), Afina Dzhalandrishuili (Russia), Rim (Eritrea), Ramin (Afghanistan), Ewura Andoh (Ghana), Hanibal (Ethiopia) and Suzanne van der Linden (Netherlands).
Hopefully to be continued!
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