Artist Sharinna Travieso Discusses her Involvement in Worcester’s Black Lives Matter Mural

Worcester is a cultural destination. The city is proud to offer a variety of cultural attractions, from theater and dining to local art and outdoor exhibits. One of the most recent artistic additions has been the Black Lives Matter mural.

This week we’re highlighting one of the talented artists who lent her skill to this powerful mural: Sharinna Travieso.

Sharinna has been an artist since 2016. She grew up in Worcester and says that “seeing the changes in the city has been pretty crazy.”

Before she started painting murals, Sharinna attended an art-focused elementary school, where she learned through art and dance. During college, Sharinna began drawing and painting. In 2016, the first mural she worked on was “Maiden Mother Crone” on the YWCA’s wall in Downtown Worcester where she assisted artist Alice Mizrachi. She says her art gives her a way to express herself, and that “it’s good to be a part of the movement.”

During her third year of college, Sharinna realized that although she was learning, she wasn’t doing what she loved to do. She dropped out to focus on her art. As the Black Lives Matter protests flared around the country, Sharinna received a call from a friend who asked her if she wanted to get involved in creating the mural for Downtown Worcester. Her answer was a resounding yes.

Of painting the mural, Sharinna says she started with a sketch of her letter (the first ‘L’ in black) and had a chance to visualize her contribution on paper first. Uniquely, the artists did not collaborate on the appearance of the letters beforehand. Instead, each artist created their unique vision and later compiled them into the finished product.

Here’s what Sharinna has to say about her contribution to the mural and its impact on the Worcester community:

“My letter depicts a girl at the bottom. She has dark skin. I wanted to represent the females. I felt it was important for girls to see themselves in the mural. In my letter, off to the side, it has different-colored hands holding up signs. A few days after the mural was finished, I remember seeing a picture of a little boy drawing something on the ground in chalk. It was a part of my letter. It showed the impact the mural had on the community. It was nice.”

Before her Worcester murals, Sharinna says she’s had no experience with street art, and that the experiences have been fun because she’s so used to painting static surfaces.

Of being part of the BLM mural, Sharinna says:

“It was nice to be able to use my art as my voice. I think seeing it as an art form is more impactful. Art is more powerful than using your voice. People can see it and take what they want from it. It leaves a longer-lasting impression on people….Being a part of that outreach created a sense of community. Before COVID, we went to art shows and I loved getting together with people and doing art. Aside from the activism part, it was nice to get together.”

In addition to demonstrating Downtown Worcester’s commitment to social justice and inclusivity, the BLM mural also provided an important coming-together for artists and community members amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

In Sharinna’s words:

“I didn’t realize that people missed community art that much. Everyone just came back out and worked together.”

Worcester’s artistic heritage runs deep, and the BLM mural is just one more display of the talented artists who live in the city. On future art in Worcester, Sharinna says:

“I would push to put more art in the Main South area and the Lincoln Area. I feel like incorporating some art into those lower-income places incorporates them into the community.”

The mural was painted on July 15, 2020 on Major Taylor Boulevard next to the DCU Center.

Caleb Neelon’s interest in mural art started as a child, but his passion grew and eventually inspired other mural artists as well as POW! WOW! Worcester. Caleb’s mural would be the first in a long following of Worcester murals that create community engagement while making vibrant and beautiful art accessible and free to all.

“I’ve been doing murals since I could do murals as a terrible elementary school project,” Caleb  explained. While his artistic curiosity started as a child, it was a family trip to Berlin that really solidified murals as his preferred canvas. In March of 1990, Caleb went with his mother to visit a family friend in Germany, which was less than a year after the Berlin Wall had come down. While looking at the collapsed wall, teenaged Caleb was entranced by the graffiti and artwork that covered the symbolic wall. It was “very poignant,” he said.

After his trip to Berlin, Caleb was inspired to learn about street art and graffiti. He joked that he learned by painting walls and streets with bad paintings that his friends would tease him about the next day, but overall, the experience taught him how to deal with criticism. “It does breed resilient public artists,” Caleb said.

Years later, Caleb and his friend were painting a wall next to a loading dock in Worcester when a code enforcer from the city told the two artists that their artwork violated the signage ordinance and that they would need an easement from the City Manager; otherwise the mural would be considered illegal. According to Caleb, this event sparked a dialogue about the nature of murals and their impact on the city. News reporters even called Caleb to get his insight into the discussion. This was just the beginning of a new artistic awakening in Worcester.

In the Summer of 2014, Caleb was asked to create a mural for the Denholm Building. “That was the first of those big murals that Worcester has sort of become covered in now,” he said. At the time, his daughter was a toddler who loved playing with building blocks. Repeatedly, Caleb’s daughter would build the blocks up and tear them down. For Caleb, these blocks became a “visual metaphor” for hopes and dreams. This is shown by the colorful and eye-catching block motifs that Caleb painted on the Denholm wall. According to Caleb, the scene in the mural can either be someone building up the blocks or tearing them down. However, how you interrupt the piece entirely depends on your point of view.

The Denholm mural also has a broader meaning that encompasses the character of Worcester. Caleb explained that Worcester is a community that is constantly focused on revitalization. However, for new buildings to get built up, others must get knocked down and replaced. One cannot happen without the other.

Caleb’s mural received a lot of attention, both praise and criticism. Regardless of the way the artwork was received, he was simply happy that his piece provoked emotion. The intense reactions and publicity also generated further discussion about the role that murals could play in the City of Worcester. This inspired local artists and leaders to create mural-based collaborations and events such as the very popular POW! WOW! Worcester festival. Through these programs and connections, street art became accessible to the public while adding color and life to once bland walls and buildings.

At the time of his painting, mural projects were done one project at a time; however, he believed that coming together as a group of mural artists was more beneficial for the artists and the community. “… nobody likes each individual piece of public art, so if you put on one piece of public art, there is everybody’s opinion. It’s like going to an art museum and having one artwork.” As a result, Caleb was empowered when POW! WOW! Worcester came on the scene and brought variety, diversity, and a sense of community through the murals. “Worcester was the first city in New England to really go through the gate,” Caleb said of Worcester openly embracing public art on its walls.

Although it has been years since he first painted the Denholm mural, Caleb still appreciates his contribution to Worcester. He is excited by the ever-growing art community in the city. “I get a great vibe from Worcester. It’s a great city, and I love to work there,” he said.

Artists participating in POW! WOW! Worcester are both local and traveling artists who come to the city to paint and be a part of the POW! WOW! Worldwide network of festivals. Artists try to incorporate inspiration from the neighborhood into their murals and are given creative freedom.

POW! WOW! Worcester maintains the largest collection of street murals in New England. Since its inception, POW! WOW! Worcester has curated over 160 pieces of public art, including 106 murals. It is truly a collaboration of the city, including a local organizing committee made up of city residents, students, and business professionals.

The mission of POW! WOW! is plentiful: to beautify neighborhoods and create community. POW! WOW! aims to encourage walkability and enhanced connectivity between different neighborhoods in the city while advocating for youth arts education. POW! WOW! wants to inspire change, promote diversity and inclusion, and contribute to a greater quality of life.

We spoke with Lisa Drexhage, the co-director of POW! WOW! Worcester, to learn more about this international mural festival, which will be taking place in Worcester August 13-22nd this year.

“What does POW! WOW! mean?”
Lisa: POW! WOW! is named after the experience of the creation of art. POW! is the impact that the art has on an individual and WOW! is the emotion that it creates. Together, these two concepts are the core of the mission: to beautify neighborhoods and create community.

“How do artists get selected to participate in POW! WOW!?”
Lisa: We try to find artists that are representative of the area. The style behind the artist is important too, like if they like to paint brick walls, flat walls, etc.

“How much direction do you give artists on their murals?”
Lisa: We give the artists creative freedom. We give them some background on the area so they can try to incorporate their style with the surrounding neighborhood.

“What makes a good mural?”
Lisa: Art is subjective. The root of what a mural should do is it should change people’s perspectives and make them think.

“Anything else you want to share about POW! WOW!?”
Lisa: POW! WOW! is a community effort, involving sponsors and local restaurants that feed the artists. We bring public art to the community, but what I really feel like we are doing is showcasing the amazing community Worcester has.