The Urbano Project
Imagine a place where teen artists from Boston’s neighborhoods are given tools and space to express themselves. That place is the Urbano Project in Jamaica Plain, which I had the opportunity to visit with a friend yesterday. The goal of the project is to empower “urban teens and professional artists to effect social change through visionary works of art and performance.” We were able to see the workshop space where 150 teens participate in the Urbano Project each year. We also saw the exhibit “Where We Live,” in which a number of teen artists presented reflections on their experiences of the city. This included murals, like those shown above, as well as interactive pieces. One of the most unique and interesting works is an interactive sound installation where movement through the piece triggers student voices telling a story. The experience of the piece changes based on where and how quickly you move. Throughout the exhibit there is a notable emphasis on how the students experience and process violence in the City of Boston.
One of my favorite pieces was Palas por pistoles (Shovels for guns), by the Mexican artist Pedro Reyes. The work consist of 1,527 weapons that were melted down and made into shovels. These shovels are now used to plant trees in urban areas affected by gun violence. The exhibit includes the shovels as well as videos of the weapons being collected, melted down and used to plant trees. The Urbano Project will be using the shovels to plant trees in the six Boston neighborhoods most affected by violence.
Palas por pistoles reminded me of my favorite Mozambican artists, including Fiel Dos Santos, who transform guns from that country’s civil war into works of art.
What these works share is the moving symbolization of the human, spiritual and moral costs of violence and the transformative power of peace. I found myself amazed that the students at the Urbano Project are struggling with, comprehending and forging art from these experiences at such a young age. It’s a tribute to the vision of the organization that their students are expressing themselves in such a meaningful way; their work is clear evidence that we need the social change these artists are striving for.
