ART serves as an escape and a reminder to keep hope alive and stay positive. It has become an avenue to express our feelings, get messages across and share in our collective experiences as a community.
JCI Zugbuana, an all-female chapter of the Junior Chamber International-Cebu, teamed up with Ayala Center Cebu to paint colorful murals along Juan Luan Ave. Ext. to bring awareness and spread hope in light of the pandemic.
The group initially planned on putting up tarpaulins and posters in various barangays but later decided on creating meaningful and informative street art that would easily stand out and grab the attention of commuters and pedestrians.
“We wanted to create a campaign that would promote the safety protocols for Covid-19 in a creative, impactful way that would resonate with Cebuanos,” said Hana Vale See, project chair of the “Educate to Eradicate Covid-19: Walls of Hope” campaign.
The initiative brought together 24 local artists who responded to the call on social media last August and immediately developed concepts and designs for the murals. Then on Sept. 26, the team took to the streets with paint buckets on hand, and a mission to educate and inspire, and brought life to the bare walls.
Within a day, they completed nine murals, three of which were done in partnership with Ayala Center Cebu. Each mural bore a message that would resonate with passersby such as “wash your hands,” “distance yourself,” “amping” and “hold on to hope.” A mural was also dedicated to frontliners and modern day heroes who have put their lives on the line to protect and save lives.
“Since the pandemic has created a mood of sadness and despair, visual art can be a medium to uplift the community and encourage everyone to shift their disposition. Moving away past the fears and darkness this pandemic has brought upon us and reminding the community that (we can overcome this) by working together and doing our part,” See shared.
This isn’t the first time JCI Zugbuana has used art to spread a message of hope and positivity. Last year, it created a mural and painted the walls of Sapangdaku Elementary School. It also teamed up with Ayala Center Cebu for other causes like Locks of Love, Threadcycle & Fete Dela Fleur.
“We always seem to share the same ideas and vision with Ayala Center Cebu making it so easy to collaborate and work together,” See said as she described the longstanding organization’s partnership with the mall.
Walls of Hope aims to uplift every passerby and bring back life to the city’s streets by using the walls as canvas. The initiative proves that though lives may have been put on hold due to the pandemic, it does not stop artists and creatives from finding ways to inspire the community. / PR