On a warm November afternoon, the community came together to celebrate Chelsea’s latest. With a grant from the Chelsea Cultural Council, muralist and Chelsea resident Silvia Lopez-Chavez collaborated with GreenRoots and their seven member ECO teen crew to design this piece of art rooted in community resilience and power. The mural, in collaboration with and painted on the Pearl Street side of Roca’s building, exemplifies community, friendship and unity. The mural was also made possible with support from the City of Chelsea’s Department of Public Works.
Inspiration for the mural comes from the people of Chelsea, who, as a community, come together to lift each other, working in unity to thrive during challenging times. The imagery features diverse hands modeled by Chelsea youth from the ECO Crew. The hands hold flags with words in ten different languages currently spoken in Chelsea: Resilience (English), Unity (Spanish), Perseverance (French Creole), Pride (Portuguese), Diversity (Chinese), Togetherness (Vietnamese), Strength (Hindi), Determination (Somali), and Courage (Amharic). A garden of national flowers blooms across the wall representing 33 countries of origin and foreign-born residents in Chelsea’s demographics. The mural celebrates the diverse people of Chelsea, shining a joyful light on the resilience and collective strength that makes this community so beautiful.
GreenRoots and Artist Silvia Lopez Chavez offer gratitude to the Chelsea Cultural Council, the City of Chelsea, Roca and the dedication of the ECO Youth Crew members Stephanie, Troy, Roxanna, Tayanara, Arianna, Vanessa, Darien, and Greandoll along with GreenRoots Youth Program Organizers Laura Brockington and Sarah Saydun. Special thanks to the talented artists who assisted throughout the project: Laidy Saenz, Ayana Mack, Gina Latham, Sabrina Dorsainvil, Laura Menucci; and Dominic Chavez for photo-documenting the process.