Students at two elementary schools in Costa Rica’s Limon province have brightly colored murals to enjoy, thanks to the creativity of some Albright College and Reading School District students.
The mural-painting project was organized by Albright’s Alternative Spring Break under the leadership of the club’s president, Angelica Malone, and vice president, Olivia Console.
The two college seniors worked in collaboration with Israel Mesen, owner of Tayra Tours/Camaquiri Research Initiative, Limón, Pococí, Costa Rica; Michael Lee Miller, Albright artist in residence; and Kristen T. Woodward, Albright professor of art.
With Miller’s guidance, fifth-graders at Albright’s Total Learning Center came up with the idea of a mural incorporating images of animals native to the Central American country.
The middle school students researched the animals to learn about habitat and select appropriate colors. Then, they and the college students worked with community members to paint the birds and other critters, sketched with Miller’s help onto canvas-like material used for outdoor murals.
“The involvement of local students and community members was crucial to the success of this project,” Malone said, noting the hands-on work guided by Miller and Woodward.
During their spring break a group of six Albright students, including Malone and Console, traveled with Miller and Woodward to Limon to install the pre-painted artwork on freshly painted backdrops at the two schools.
Initially the idea was to install the murals at Camaquiri, a sustainable field station that focuses on rainforest conservation, education and research, said Malone, a senior psychobiology major. But Mesen believed the project would be more impactful if it involved children in the community and arranged the connection with the El Sota and El Cedral schools.
Naturally, not everything went smoothly or exactly as planned, and there were a few hiccups after the group arrived in the tropical country.
The mural at El Sota had to be reconfigured after the team was directed to a wall with different dimensions than planned for in the design. They also worried if the adhesive used to affix the pre-painted canvases would hold in the hot and humid climate.
Then there was the nerve-racking bus ride in the 11th hour to the only paint store in the area. Miller and the college students arrived to place a big order just 10 minutes before closing time.
But it all came together, Malone said, and by the end of the week, the team had completed two murals and started a third. The final mural, a colorful train with open cars intended to be filled with paintings of children and animals, will be completed by the children of El Cedral.
The project was a great opportunity for all involved to learn about another culture and share their own interests and talents with students from another country, Malone said.
The students from Reading and those in Costa Rica held video chats to learn about their different cultures and share their mutual interest in art. Some of the bilingual Reading students were able to translate for the Spanish-speaking Costa Rican children, Console said.
The artworks already had an impact on communities where the two schools are located, she noted.
“The new murals on the schools caught the attention of the local superintendent,” she said, “and provided the starting point for meaningful change in the lives of the students they were created for.”
The superintendent is planning for future artworks in the school and was invited to Camaquiri to discuss the possibility of using the field station’s kitchen to prepare government-provided free meals for students at El Sota.
Though the meals are provided at El Cedral, which has a kitchen, Malone said, they are not offered at the El Sota.
Building a school kitchen might be a project for future Albright spring breaks, said Console, a senior co-majoring in French and international relations.
“For the future of our organization, we’d like to go back to Costa Rica,” she said. “Angie and I are graduating seniors, but we hope that the organization continues. We’ve built this relationship with our hosts in Costa Rica, so ASB can to go back and continue doing service in that area.”
The Albright students are working on a documentary video of the experience, showcasing the hard work and dedication put into the project by all involved.
“We believe this project is a testament to the power of collaboration and community involvement in promoting positive change, and we are eager to share the project with the local community,” Malone said.
Source: Berkshire mont
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