Artist Michelle Ortiz working on some of the mural details
Michelle Angela Ortiz, a mural artist based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, traveled to Tegucigalpa, Honduras, on March 16-27 and April 7-15, 2015, for a two-part exchange. Working with Alianza Joven Honduras – USAID, Michelle trained four local artists in her techniques on mural painting and community engagement, and together created large-scale murals in two Tegucigalpa neighborhoods: Colonia 21 de Febrero and Colonia Estados Unidos. The murals incorporated portraits of community members, as well as themes including the environment, youth, and women’s empowerment.
Press at the public unveiling of the mural
Michelle speaking with local press about the mural exchange
Michelle speaking with local press about the mural exchange
Señora Gladys speaks about her experience in the exchange during the public unveiling
Michelle speaks to the public about the mural and the themes and ideas it represents at the unveiling ceremony
Michelle with one of the participants at the unveiling ceremony
Michelle with her models, Cesar David and Señora Gladys
Michelle’s assistants speak to the crowd at the unveiling
Lester, Walter, Wendy, and Julissa received certificates for their work with Michelle
The community center where Michelle and her assistants held mural workshops and master classes
The 21 de Febrero neighborhood
The mural site, on the right
Participants start putting down primer in preparation for the mural
One of Michelle’s assistants, Wendy, speaks with a member of the community
Assistant Walter also brainstormed with community members
Michelle presents a workshop on her past mural arts background
One of Michelle’s workshops with the local community
Participants start brainstorming ideas for their collaborative mural
Ideas and themes for the mural that the group came up with
Participants also sketched out some of their ideas
Participants work on developing ideas and designs for the mural
Michelle incorporated this photograph into the final mural design
Teaching the neighborhood kids how to prepare primer
Volunteers help prime the mural site
Volunteers help prime the mural site
Volunteers help prime the mural site
Volunteers help prime the mural site
Participants get ready to help Michelle apply a grid to the wall
Michelle demonstrates how to apply a grid
Michelle demonstrates how to apply a grid
Once the grid was applied, volunteers helped sketch the design onto the wall
Once the grid was applied, volunteers helped sketch the design onto the wall
Once the grid was applied, volunteers helped sketch the design onto the wall
The mural design, along with the paints the group used
The mural design
Many of the volunteers were youth from the neighborhood
Volunteers apply paint to the mural
The mural was painted in 3.5 days
Volunteers apply paint to the mural
Volunteers apply paint to the mural
Volunteers apply paint to the mural
Michelle working on some of the mural details
Michelle working on some of the mural details
One end of the mural represented the youth of Honduras
The nearly completed mural
Volunteer Cesar David was the model for one of the mural portraits
This participant, Señora Gladys, is featured in the mural
Artist Michelle Ortiz working on some of the mural details
