Colors of Change: West High mural unveiling set for Aug. 17, 6-8 p.m.

This is Ava and Yvette from the MyTurn and Kimball Jenkins Summer Placemaking internship. Through these innovative programs, we have been granted an amazing opportunity to work with fellow students from across various schools. What was first perceived as a boring job soon became a fun experience with many new faces and memories. Great additional organizational partnerships with the Nature Conservancy have motivated us to appreciate our world through off-site trips to the Great Bay Preserve Office, Manchester Cedar Swamp Preserve, and Jackson Estuarine UNH Laboratories. Heck, we even get to go behind the scenes at the Currier Museum next week.

We are currently working vigorously to achieve our ambitious goal of painting over 2,000 square feet of murals at West High School in Manchester. We would love to have anyone who is interested in seeing what we have been working on these past few weeks to attend our mural unveiling on August 17 from 6-8 p.m. There will be delicious food for sale by Don Quijote Restaurant, refreshments, fire playlists and music played by a local string trio starring Nicholas So.

We have some thoughts regarding the work rendered in these 20 mural segments:

Our passionate group of talented individuals are creating unique pieces surrounding the unfortunate reality of the climate crisis our planet is facing. Thanks to the help of artist Richard Haynes we have been able to take this negative topic and spin it into art, beautifying the courtyard at a stereotypically miserable place known as ‘school.’ Other art facilitators such as Amber Nicole Cannan, Jozimar Matimano, and Yasamin Safarzadeh have been huge supporters in making our time here more enjoyable while respecting our artistic freedom.

We have also benefited from Richella Simard’s immense generosity and Jasmine Torres’ incredible insight into utilizing our social media literacy. We are so thankful to scientists Taja Simms-Harper and Kelsey Meyer for lending us their expertise in the matter of marine life!

“It is education that will give you freedom and opportunity,” says Richard Haynes, lead artist overseeing the student interns visual aspect of work.

Says Janet Rosado, 17, about her piece: “I feel very strongly about climate change because the wildfires have heavily affected people I know because of the poor air quality. Since I’m a graduate of 2023 which is also the 100th year of West High School being opened I decided to incorporate both elements into one piece.”

Sabrina Andino, 16, from West High School, says, “My painting shows a bird getting pushed out of the city to represent how birds are affected by pollution in urban areas.”

“This program is nice, and got me out of my comfort zone. It has also helped me be able to travel to new places. I also appreciate the paycheck of course,” says John Reyes, 16 years old from Central High School.

Camila Tavarez, 17, from Central High School says, “I painted flowers because it is tropical and exotic like where I come from, that being Puerto Rico.”

We are so thankful to the following donors and grantors; TruValue Distribution Center, Benjamin Moore at Capital City Paint, The Bean Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, Eastern Bank, NH State Council on the Arts, NH Charitable Foundation and each of your individual donations and labor! Without all the amazing community members who stopped by for mentorship meetings and to lift up these young, vibrant voices, these programs would not be possible. Thank you to Virgin Oyster Company, Constantly Pizza, The Friendly Kitchen, Iguana’s Restaurant, Firefly Restaurant, Panera Bread, and Chipotle for the delicious treats! Special thanks to West High School for everything y’all have done to make this project succeed and to take care of us!

Also Ms Jane and Zeynab, y’all are everything! Thank you to MyTurn’s incredible staff for the backup and support!