Over two weeks in August, a group of 20 high school students are painting hands in a rainbow of colors on a wall outside of Spats Food and Spirits. Some of the hands are shades of brown, others blue and purple, still others orange and yellow.
All of these hands in their many colors, said 17-year-old Angy Oliveo, show that “everyone is welcome here, and that there’s a place here for you.”
The nearly 3,000-square foot mural is the fifth iteration of a program called Paint the City. Each summer since 2022, artist Neo Medina has worked with a group of students to paint murals around Appleton. These students are chosen from a pool of applicants every year and receive a small stipend and half a credit for their work. While the students are working, the community can stop by, ask questions and pick up a paintbrush themselves.
This year, the students “locked in” starting Aug. 3, Medina said. By Aug. 7, the lines were already mostly filled in with color, and students were also starting to make invitations for the mural reveal and celebration.
“They’re knocking it out of the park,” Medina said.
While the students are working to finish the mural, they’re making connections with each other and the community, too. 16-year-old Juju Basubi said she signed up as a way to make new friends, but she was excited to see people come to help, too.
Her favorite part of the mural is the two hands linking their pinky fingers and its symbolism: “We’re together, we’re connected. That’s a promise.”
The fifth “Paint the City” mural is a tribute to all of the helping hands that made these five murals possible, Medina said, whether by supporting the project financially or by picking up a brush themselves.
As for the location, Medina said he wanted to add a “super visible” mural to College Avenue on the other side of Memorial Drive. It’s not far from where he led the second Paint the City mural project outside the Boys & Girls Club in Appleton. The project has also completed murals in the Fox Commons tunnel, the side of Jersey Bagel and Deli, and the Kimball Alley tunnel near the Appleton YMCA.
Medina’s goal was to keep the program going for five years. Now that he’s reached that milestone, he wants to do another five.
Once the mural is done, the public is invited to celebrate at 5:30 p.m. Aug. 14. at Spats, 733 W. College Ave. in Appleton.
Rebecca Loroff is a K-12 education reporter for the USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin. She welcomes story tips and feedback. Contact her at rloroff@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: New Paint the City mural pays tribute to helping hands
Reporting by Rebecca Loroff, Appleton Post-Crescent / Appleton Post-Crescent
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Rebecca Loroff, Appleton Post-Crescent | USA TODAY Network
