It’s not easy to bring together dozens of students, 100 cans of paint and a handful of artists to create a mural.
But that’s exactly what community artist Shawn Dunwoody did this month. In honor of Frederick Douglass’ 200th birthday, Dunwoody, students and other artists and professionals came together to paint several wall-size murals at Rochester’s School 12, where Douglass’ home once sat.
The murals depict portraits of Douglass alone and with other well-known historical figures such as Susan B. Anthony. Some of his quotes are also turned into art on the walls.
There are other images drawn by the students. Second-graders drew stick figures playing together near the entrance. Older kids created interactive art; lily pads painted on the pavement out back give kids a hoppable way to get to the playground.
“It’s about being engaged,” said Dunwoody. “I want people to look at it and see their work, their part.”
He said he’s been working with Genesee Community Charter School since the start of the year and, together, they’ve painted two murals around the city. One is at Passaro’s Deli on Clifford Avenue, and one is at Cameron Community Ministries on Lyell Avenue.
They plan to paint at the Peace Garden on Portland Avenue next -- if there are enough school days left in the year.
“The point is to be engaged and engage others, listening to the residents and businesses and creating a mural that’s actually connected to the place where the mural is being done,” Dunwoody said.
“Here at Frederick Douglass’ home, we worked with students to create this idea of home and we tell the story of the Underground Railroad,” Dunwoody said.
He said the murals for the Peace Garden will be about showing people that they matter.
“Something like just painting a mural, it’s pretty simple, but it’s really making a change,” said Lydia Byers, a sixth-grader at Genesee Community Charter School.
Lydia said the School 12 project has been her favorite so far.
“This one was pretty fun because the other murals we did, it was only our class. But now there’s other kids we don’t know from other schools.”
Some students said they enjoyed the work on Lyell because they had five walls to cover. Others enjoyed the work on Clifford Avenue because of the message and color scheme.
Students did the murals in challenged parts of the city, expanding their own understanding of Rochester neighborhoods. Lydia said it’s exciting to get out of the classroom because there “are other ways to learn than from a book.”
The students often come back to discuss what they saw and to better understand why neighborhoods look the way they do. They then discuss how this can pose barriers or possible bridges to success for the neighborhood’s residents.
Aliyah Townsend is also a sixth-grader at GCCS. She says the mural can actually motivate people: “A mural can inspire you. It can lift someone up, and lift someone else up and lift someone else up. It’s a chain reaction.”
Students weren’t the only ones helping Dunwoody. Victor “Range” Zarate, a well-known graffiti artist in the area, said he immediately agreed to join the campaign when Dunwoody asked him. His rendition of Douglass shows the abolitionist slightly scowling, copy of The North Star in hand.
“A lot of the kids kept asking me, ‘Why does he have this mean face?’ I tell them Douglass was about business. He was about letting people know what they needed to know and he had a serious demeanor,” said Range.
“Frederick Douglass is perfect because he did a lot for this community,” Aaliyah said. “It’s cool to learn more about him and then to also paint what he said. Plus, I get to hang out with my friends.”