Community Engagement through the Mural Arts: Cali, Colombia
American mural artist Augustina Droze is in Cali, Colombia, for a three-week Community Engagement through the Mural Arts exchange program. Working with in-country partner Centro Cultural Colombo Americano (CCCA) and local artists, Ms. Droze is creating a large-scale mural at one of CCCA’s Bi-National Center locations in Cali, incorporating such themes as social inclusion and peace. In addition to the mural element of this program, Ms. Droze has also been leading workshops with community members, Cali artists, and local school children to share her artistic techniques and discuss the impact of art in communities.
Funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Cultural Programs Division in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the Community Engagment through the Mural Arts program is being implemented by the Meridian Center for Cultural Diplomacy. Ms. Droze is the fourth American Artist who has traveled abroad to collaborate with local youth and underserved populations on community-based projects in the mural arts - previous exchanges were based in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Four additional artists will travel to Brazil, Cuba, India, and Turkey from late 2015 through 2016.