Today I went to the Virginia Museum of History and Culture to see the exhibit Mending Walls. This collection includes works already part of the museum collection as well as murals created for the Mending Walls Project. The name was inspired by the Robert Frost poem where the poet and his neighbor have some deep conversations as they work together on mending a fence. These are a few of the paintings and slides included in the exhibit. Here is a mission statement from the website of the Mending Walls project:
Mending Walls is a public art project that brings together public artists from different cultures and backgrounds to create murals that address where we are now in society and how we can move forward through understanding and collaboration. Mending Walls pairs up artists of different backgrounds to create unique connections and give them an opportunity to tell their story collaboratively in an effort to express healing through connection. In this moment we all are searching for more understanding and this project will serve as a tool that would fuel connection through story telling. Our hope is to bring about healing through public art while adding something meaningful to the conversation of Black Lives Matter.
Last week I shared with you one of the newest murals from this project inspired by the names of Black men and women murdered by police. Other murals are being painted currently. Richmond has one of the largest collections of urban art in the country, and this project aims to use Richmond’s pride in its murals to bring people together.
You can Google Mending Walls and learn more about it.
