Photo by Marvella Muro and Jennifer Cuevas

Week 1 • Week 2 • Week 3 • Week 4 • Week 5

Founded by Tanya Aguiñiga in 2016, AMBOS (Art Made Between Opposite Sides) is an art collective that highlights bi-national artists, exhibiting work made from both sides of the border. They aim to support and provide a voice for migrant communities, further conversations about identity, document the border, and build support systems.

This summer, Pável Acevedo, a printmaker and muralist from Oaxaca, and Katie Mejia, a Salvadoran American artist from Los Angeles, will come to HOLA visual arts to plan a mural with students. Over the next 5 weeks, students will collaborate to design characters, finalize a mural design, paint, and engage in discussions regarding migration and community.

Read more about AMBOS: http://www.ambosproject.com/about

WEEK 1

BUILDING THE NEST

The 5-week summer program started with an introduction by Pável Acevedo about himself and the project they would be working on over the course of the month. The students learned that they would be helping him design a mural for the community, based around animals.

The class really began, however, by playing a game! Students broke up into threes: two students formed a nest with one student as a bird. When all the groups were formed, one student would be purposefully left out.

To start the game, that student yelled out bird, nest, or storm. On bird, all "birds" would leave their nests and try to find another home, on nest, the students would need to find another classmate to pair up with, and on storm, all groups broke up, shifted around, and formed new trios. The game intended to prompt conversation regarding community, turbulence, and exclusion.

Next, the students carved block prints of either a bird, bat, or nest. After printing their stamps on paper, they journaled about what made up their identity, what they hoped to bring to community, and what made a safe space.

WEEK 2

FLUORESCENT FLOWERS

Pável passed out images of flowers for the group to make stencils, which would ultimately be used on the mural. The kids picked between California poppy or the lupine flower, both native to California (as well as other parts of North America)!

The group then moved onto outlining the flowers onto tracing paper, which they then transfered to bristol. They took their time cutting out the flowers to finish their unique stencils!

After a quick break, the group moved outside to practice spray painting with a stencil. Pável lead them through the technique, and soon the students had an array of bright orange and purple flowers.

The flowers prepped them for week three, where they would keep the stencils in mind when deciding on a composition for the mural!

WEEK 3

To be updated!