Intellectual Virtues Academy High Brings Healing Through Art

Long Beach CA

25 April, 2021

9:47 PM

Description

Long Beach, CA, April 23, 2021: Intellectual Virtues Academy (IVA) and Jordan high school students partnered with the Coalition for a Healthy North Long Beach to design and paint a collaborative mural. The Coalition's aim was to create an opportunity for students to help their community heal through art and city beautification. The one-hundred foot mural stretches across four alley walls in North Long Beach, between Atlantic Avenue and Lime, off East 61st Street. Long Beach artists -- Guillermo Avalos, Sergio Butch, and Gregory Navarro Pickens -- met virtually with students and community members to define the mural theme and to choose visual representations. The theme "Mexican Tree of Life" emerged with a student emphasis on featuring life during the pandemic for essential workers and those suffering from isolation. The mural elements were carefully considered to represent a balance between this difficult time period and hope for our future. Long Beach artists, high school students, and Coalition members began the process of safety painting the mural. As an IVA High student shared, "It was a great lesson in teamwork. I am proud to be a part of a school that takes action in Long Beach." The mural gives voice to the perspective of this generation, and captures the importance of creative expression and collaboration within the Long Beach community. Vice Mayor Rex Richardson visited IVA High School's virtual community meeting on March 31, 2021 to present awards of recognition to the student artists and to personally thank them for their contribution. The Academy is currently accepting rolling applications. Learn more at www.academylongbeach.org.