A community that sticks together. That’s what residents from Rochester’s Southwest neighborhood hope a new mural in their area will highlight.
The Center for Teen Empowerment, a local youth advocacy group, commissioned the mural being unveiled tonight.
Jennifer Bannister is the Development and Collaborations manager for Teen Empowerment. She says youth organizers with the group surveyed nearly 100 young people in the Southwest neighborhood.
“They asked what are what are the strengths and weaknesses of the Southwest neighborhood and what are some solutions that could go forward, that could move us forward," Bannister said. "And so from that, youth organizers from Teen Empowerment really looked at all the surveys and came out with some themes which we then gave to Eder Muniz, the artist," said Bannister.
Eder Muniz, a Brazilian artist with ties to Rochester, was commissioned for the mural. He says from the surveys he came up with a theme inspired by the West African Sankofa bird. The meaning - people must go back to their roots in order to move forward.
“I think it really was about Sankofa, you know," Muniz said. "To see the problems that the community had before, and see a way to change these problems," said Muniz.
The mural is located at the corner of Genesee Street and Frost Avenue.