Photo Credit: Erin Bloodgood
Photographer
When driving past a mural on the side of a building, take a closer look, because within those colors and images, there’s a story. Think about how that mural came to be on that wall and what it took to create that work of art. For Tia Richardson, a Milwaukee-based artist, producing a mural is something that is done with a community. She has painted murals all around the city by partnering with local organizations and bringing people together. Her works of art are more than paintings, they are connections.
Richardson’s process begins when a local organization reaches out and explains the needs in their neighborhood. She works with the organization to determine a goal of the mural and how it can address those needs. The magic really starts when Richardson brings all types of community members together to collaborate in a workshop, from business owners to public safety officials, to home owners and everyone in between. In Richardson’s creative process, collaboration and communication have to happen before anything else.
She asks people to focus on one of three things in her workshops: challenges that the community has faced, choices currently being made about those challenges, or where those choices are leading the community. In other words, participants are asked to either focus on the past, the present or the future. Once they have chosen a topic, everyone breaks into small groups of people they may not know to discuss issues affecting their lives.
“As human beings, there’s a need to connect. There aren’t always positive outlets for being able to express ourselves,” explains Richardson. Through collaboration and artistic expression, she aims to create a positive space for people to work through problems together. She then combines those ideas and drawings from the workshop to create her initial sketch. The mural begins to come to life when members of the neighborhood jointly press their acrylic-covered brushes to the wall.
“I underestimated Milwaukee,” she says, “I underestimated people’s willingness to do something positive in the face of so much pain. It tells me the potential that Milwaukee has, and I want to go after that potential.”
The most prominent mural Richardson has created stands tall in Milwaukee’s Sherman Park neighborhood, depicting a homeowner, a carpenter and a police officer at the center holding up a house. There are endless stories throughout the painting, but the overwhelming theme is people supporting their homes and their need for others to help share the weight. Yet the message changes depending on the viewer. “That’s the beauty of it. Everyone can find what they need from it,” Richardson says.
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These murals are changing our city by giving people an avenue to express themselves. People like Tia Richardson and her partnering organizations are creating opportunities for connection and healing. When looking at these murals, we are getting a direct message from the people throughout our community, and their voices are being heard.
For more of Erin Bloodgood’s work, visit bloodgoodfoto.com.
