Talking About Ubuntu: The Youth Speak | Chelsea Police Department & GreenRoots

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In Partnership with Boston University, 2021

Karen Malpica, "In The Waves," Painting, 16" x 20," 2021
Karen Malpica, "In The Waves," Painting, 16" x 20," 2021

Project Name: "Contributing Fine Arts"

Host Program:  Chelsea Police Department with GreenRoots

Media: Paint on canvas

Adult Mentors: Daniel Cortez, Officer Sammy Mojica, Officer Daniel Varraso from Chelsea PD., and Laura Brockington from GreenRoots

BU Wheelock Student Liaison: Karen Malpica

Youth Artists: T.A., & N.M.

Age Range:  15-17

Artist Statement

The essence of Ubuntu refers to the commonality we share as individuals. As young people our greatest influences are the community we live in, the schools we learn in, and the individuals we may interact with everyday. “Ubuntu offers us insight into our personal and collective identities, our relationships with others, and how we might aspire to live in ways that best support ourselves, our neighbors, and our communities.”

As a small group working together during Covid-19, we enjoyed the opportunity to influence one another, share our thoughts and ideas, while also exploring our own creativity. To create art-work for the Ubuntu exhibit we invited Officer Mojica and Officer Varraso to sit with us for a two-hour portrait painting session. They joined us in designing a plain canvas with a virtual background of our own choosing and we sat and painted one another on a Spring afternoon on the grounds of GreenRoots in Chelsea. Each art piece represents unique individual creativity and the connections we formed during our painting session.

Image Gallery