When Tia Richardson paints a mural, it’s rarely just her own vision being realized.
In addition to her style, Richardson is famed for her collaborative process – inviting community members to contribute to the design.
Her work-in-progress at Tenor High School is no exception. On April 10 and 11, the public can help bring this mural to life during two community painting sessions.
One of five schools in the Milwaukee-based Seeds of Health charter school network, Tenor is a small public charter school with two downtown campuses: Cathedral Square, 840 N. Jackson St., and Journal Square, 918 N. Phillips Ave.
Jodi Weber, CEO of Seeds of Health, met Richardson at a conference last year. Inspired by the muralist’s community-driven approach, Weber asked Richardson to replicate her famed process at Tenor.
Richardson started by hosting several design workshops to determine what the mural would represent for the community. She met with over 300 students, faculty and partner organizations.
From challenging divides to common purpose
Richardson says her work is grounded in a simple philosophy: helping people acknowledge difficult issues in their community in a constructive way.
During the Tenor workshops, she asked people to identify challenges the school community contends with. For Richardson, however, that’s only the first step. They also had to learn to visualize a better future.
Tenor High School brings in students from many different backgrounds. According to Richardson, those differences – whether it’s coming from different neighborhoods or bearing the weight of challenging home environments – can be difficult to overcome.
The workshops got deep, Richardson said, as students opened up about what they’ve been facing. By the end, however, they were seeing one another through more truthful and compassionate eyes.
“I think it shed new light, for them, on their peers,” Richardson said.
In addition to sharing verbally during the workshops, participants created artwork to visually represent their reflections and hopes for the school.
The art pieces yielded symbols that inspired the mural’s design.
“It’s a three-step process that helps people be able to move forward and not just get stuck in the challenges,” Richardson said. “Every community has its ups and downs, so the art is helping us come together around and work towards a common purpose.”
Inspired by these workshops, Richardson hopes the mural can amplify a sense of unity. Through the interactive process and the design itself, she hopes to inspire the school community to sustain healthy relationships in the midst of their differences.
Though the mural will be installed on the south-facing wall of Tenor’s Journal Square campus (the former home of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel), mural panels will be painted in the gym of Tenor’s Cathedral Square campus during the public sessions. The panels will later be transported for finishing and installation.
If you’re interested in contributing to the mural, join Richardson and Tenor High School faculty, students and community members between 8:30 a.m. and 2:45 p.m. April 10 or 10 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. April 11.
(This story was updated to meet our standards.)
Anya Sesay covers arts and culture for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Send her story ideas, things to see and people to meet at asesay@usatodayco.com. Follow her on Instagram @anyanic0lette.
Anya’s reporting is supported by the Richard and Ethel Herzfeld Foundation, the Maine-based Rabkin Foundation, and reader contributions to the Journal Sentinel Community-Funded Journalism Project. Journal Sentinel editors maintain full editorial control over all content. To support this work, visit jsonline.com/support. Checks can be addressed to Local Media Foundation (memo: “JS Community Journalism”) and mailed to P.O. Box 85015, Chicago, IL 60689.
The JS Community-Funded Journalism Project is administered by Local Media Foundation, tax ID #36-4427750, a Section 501(c)(3) charitable trust affiliated with Local Media Association.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Community invited to contribute to Milwaukee muralist’s latest work
Reporting by Anya Sesay, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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