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Students Working On Rio Grande Theatre Mural

http://youtu.be/FQQyHhA4BB4

Students in Las Cruces are working on creating a public art project for the city of Las Cruces, a mural on the outside of the Rio Grande Theater. This week Las Cruces City Council unanimously approved the project.

Students in the Ignite for Fun program in Las Cruces have been creating art in Las Cruces with social justice themes. Court Youth Center Artistic Director, Irene Oliver- Lewis says this will be the students 4th project this year.

“The majority of the students that we have worked with love doing public art,” Oliver- Lewis said. “And they wanted to end the year with something really big. And they suggested the Rio Grande Wall, although it had been talked about for many years, they said let’s just do it.”

The mural will be facing Water Street, on one of the non-historical walls of the Rio Grande Theater. Muralist Sebastian Velazquez says the design was inspired by the building.

“Well, we wanted something historic for the theater,” Velazquez said. “So, we looked at the simplest thing, what’s already there.  We’re using some of the historic tile and rosettes from some of the original 1920 architecture. As well as some of the actors and actresses of the times from when the theater opened until today.”

Krystal Fernandez is one of the students in the program, she says it’s been very beneficial.

“It’s really been my get away from school and work,” Fernandez said. “Because senior year was so stressful. But being able to have that time away from not having school, not having work, and just doing art, any kind of art. Making something that says ‘do this’ in art is just awesome I think.”

Irene Oliver-Lewis says having teens talk about issues and then express them through art is a good way to help them express their ideas and opinions.

“It allows them to talk about themselves,” Oliver-Lewis said. “To talk about issues in their community. This happens to be a social justice issue in preserving history, and showing what we do in history through art, but their other murals have had to do with different social issues of environment, of history, cultural identity, and education.”

The project was fully funded with grants from the Paso Del Norte Health Foundation.

Samantha Sonner was a multimedia reporter for KRWG- TV/FM.