ARTWORKS
Studio Artist July 2022- July 2023
In 2023, I started working at ArtWorks, an organization that collaborates with community members, businesses, governments, foundations, and nonprofits to create public art that enhances the region's reputation as an arts destination. Over 25 years, ArtWorks has employed 4,000 youth and 3,500 professional mentor artists to create 14,000 works of art, including 230 large-scale permanent public murals. These are some of the ins mural projects I have helped to bring to life.
PERSPECTIVES
Mz.Icar And Fotofocus
As a part of the 2022 FotoFocus Biennial (“World Record”), Perspectives is a photo-based mixed media mural that celebrates Black iconography, culture, expression, and joy. Produced in partnership by Mz. Icar, an anonymous interdisciplinary art collective, and ArtWorks, Perspectives is informed by the collection of oral histories and archival photographs from residents of Walnut Hills, a Cincinnati neighborhood with an incredibly rich Black history. The creation process of the work includes not only neighborhood engagement, but also the employment of six local Youth Apprentices under the mentorship of both Mz. Icar and an ArtWorks Teaching Artist. This highly collaborative mural is a powerful record of Black voices and histories, past and present. The mural acts as prideful gateway into the Walnut Hills neighborhood.
KIDDY KARE
Miles Bruggemeyer
Honoring ancestors and building upon the school's legacy of freedom dreaming was very important while designing this mural. The school aspires to be a Young Peoples' Liberation School, where children are affirmed in their Blackness and families participate in justice work for education and our community. The school was in the middle of an authority change, making the transition a significant focal point in the design. Through this mural, we inspired the kids walking into the school and the families passing by, encouraging them to reach deep into their roots and honor them.
FRINGE COFFEE HOUSE
Annisa Pulcheon
Through my connection with Annisa Pulcheon I was able to help paint this mural inside the Fringe Coffee House. The Fringe Coffee House helps inmates and ex-felons live healthy lives. They go to prisons every Tuesday for a 10 week program called Scars and Bars, which explores the root cause of incarceration. They offer a 1 year job training program and create a custom re-entry support plan for each person. Employees gain work experience and learn valuable skills at the Fringe Coffee House. This mural is located in the playroom.
DORITOS SOLID BLACK
Jay Maupins
They are celebrating SOLID BLACK and what it is all about, which is amplifying Black voices and uplifting the community. SOLID BLACK is an ongoing initiative from Doritos to provide resources and a platform for Black Changemakers who use innovation and boldness to drive culture and give back to their communities. This is their 3rd year, and they are looking to continue driving momentum and want this project to help provide a source of inspiration.
Let all you do be done with love
Lizzy DuQuette | John Lanzador
ArtWorks partnered with Price Hill Will to lead a series of murals that celebrate the culturally rich and diverse Cincinnati neighborhood of East Price Hill. The heritage of this community includes Appalachian, German, Guatemalan, Irish, and Italian influences. Lead Artists John Lanzador and Lizzy DuQuette gathered responses from residents and business owners about their families, traditions, and day-to-day experiences through events meant to evoke cultural pride.
