Hands On Miami Mural Project
in Little Haiti and Little Havana

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photodocumentation | messages | mural

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:   

May 12, 2001                                                                     

HANDS ON MIAMI BRINGS DIVERSE COMMUNITIES TOGETHER THROUGH ART

ELDERLY MURAL:  HAITIANS, CUBANS  "ON THE SAME BOAT"

 

(MIAMI, FL) — Hands On Miami, South Florida’s premier volunteer service organization, is coordinating a community-based art project designed to bring diverse communities together.  Senior citizens from the Little Havana Activities and Nutrition Centers and the Haitian American Foundation will be creating an intercultural mural focusing on the similarities of the Cuban and Haitian communities.

           

            The mural, a collaborative effort facilitated by Miami artist Xavier Cortada, will include a collage of drawings, writings, photos and cultural symbols important to the elderly participants.  Students from Miami Coral Park High School act as the Creole and Spanish translators.  The artistic development of this distinctive mural is the result of a series of meetings during which the participants gave oral histories.  The mural is based upon these shared experiences, both in their homeland and in Miami, and focuses on the similarities between each immigrant community.  The project is coordinated by Hands On Miami and is funded by the Dade Community Foundation.

                       

The press only is invited to attend the joint painting sessions on Monday, May 21 and Tuesday, May 22 at 104 SW 9^th Street, from 10 AM until 12:30 PM.  For additional details and directions to the painting site, visit www.cortada.com.

The public and press are invited to the mural unveiling and celebration that will take place on Thursday, May 31, from 11AM to 1 PM at the Coconut Grove Sailing Club located at 2990 S. Bayshore Drive in Coconut Grove. 

 

Hands On Miami is a non-profit organization that coordinates over 60 weekend and evening volunteer projects each month.  The group is the largest coordinator of volunteer services in the Greater Miami area, and works in partnership with United Way of Miami-Dade.  Its mission is building community by engaging people in volunteer service.

For more information on the mural project, contact Bobbi Wald at Hands On Miami at 305-646-7207 or at bobbi@handsonmiami.org. 

 

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