The group of artists with the completed mural at the end of the day
Beginning May 26, 2015, Buffalo, New York-based artist Augustina Droze spent three weeks in Cali, Colombia, working with local artists, community members, and students. With staff from the Centro Cultural Colombo Americano (CCCA), who helped organize logistics and found mural sites throughout the city, Augustina created not just one, but four collaborative murals, highlighting such themes as social inclusion, the environment, and women’s empowerment.
The group starts working on the indoor mural
Each artist contributed designs for the mural
The group working quickly to finish the mural
Quick progress of the mural
The day was a flurry of artistic activity
The mural is entitled “Unity”
The group discusses ideas for the mural
The final design includes three portraits of women embellished by natural elements
One of the artists begins mocking up a sketch of the mural
The group looks at the sketches together
The group with their sketches at CCCA’s South Branch location
The mural is being painted on superboard mounted on the side of the building
The mural site
Augustina begins painting the detailed black-and-white portraits while local artists sketch details
Carefully sketching in details
The three portraits are based on photographs of local women
The mural will be completed and unveiled during a public ceremony
The project has garnered lots of press, including TV, radio, and print media
Augustina and one of her assistants being interviewed
Interviewing one of the local participating artists
Augustina speaking with press about her mural arts exchange
Examples of press coverage include the front page of a regional paper
The story was also featured on the front page of the Culture Section in the local paper
Augustina was also spoke on Cali’s cultural radio station, Clásica 88.5
Augustina during her morning talk on Clásica 88.5
Three murals in three weeks wasn’t enough for Augustina: with extra canvases, she and the group of
This paneled mural will be on display at one of CCCA’s other locations
Augustina teachers her grid technique during a mural arts workshop with adults
Augustina begins a demonstration during her first workshop
Workshop participants begin painting after learning about Augustina’s technique and style
Augustina works on a portrait during the adult workshop
Participants working on their portraits
Participants working on their portraits
Augustina checks on participants’ progress during the workshop
Augustina working on another portrait
The workshop included a group critique
The adult workshop participants with their paintings
The adult workshop participants with their paintings
Augustina’s second workshop was for kids
The kids each painted a small panel that would become part of a larger group piece
Young participants working hard on their project
Participants painted scenes that reflected their idea of peace and social inclusion
Participants painted scenes that reflected their idea of peace and social inclusion
Participants gather to view their completed works
The panels will be mounted in a nearby park as a permanent public art display
Augustina also led an artist portfolio review with local artists one evening
The mural included themes on cultural collaboration and dialogue between Colombia and the United States
