North Stone Avenue Mural Revitalization Project
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We invite you all to support the North Stone Avenue Revitalization Project!
The North Stone Avenue Mural revitalization project is underway––and it’s serving to reunite local artists, community members, and youth participants, all during its 20th Year Anniversary. We're closing in on our fundraising goal and hope that you'll consider supporting us!
**Each and every contribution helps! AND, for every donation that's $50+ that's made by December 1, 2021, we'll add a personalized hand-painted star into the mural--either in acknowledgement of you (the donor) or someone you choose to honor. Simply add the name you wish to include in the "notes" section of your contribution.**
Many thanks for your contributions! Please also help to spread the word by sharing this campaign with your family and friends! And, be sure to SAVE THE DATE and join us on Saturday December 18th at 2pm for a celebratory public unveiling of these dedicated and longstanding intergenerational community efforts!
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PROJECT OVERVIEW
The Limberlost Neighborhood Association is thrilled to announce the revitalization and restoration of the North Stone Avenue Mural, all taking place in coordination and celebration with its 20th Anniversary! While the original community mural project, which took place from 1999-2001, served to brighten and activate a 630’ sound barrier wall between Roger & Limberlost, it also in turn became a foundation for the following meaningful, significant, and longstanding community initiatives and impacts:
· Establishment of the Limberlost Neighborhood Association;
· Influence of the design and location of the Stone Curves Co-housing Development;
· A $500,000 fundraising effort to enhance the beloved Limberlost Family Park;
· Protocols for requiring youth participation within the City’s public art initiatives; and
· Intergenerational, participatory civic engagement among local community members.
Public muralist Pasqualina Azzarello is the Lead Artist for the restoration efforts and was also a core member of the original project team who oversaw both the painting and youth leadership efforts, alongside Christina Devine (ceramics) and Kim Young (metal sculpture). Pasqualina reflects:
“The original North Stone Avenue Mural Project of 1999-2001 was a remarkable, intergenerational demonstration of empathetic community engagement and of what it means to lead with care––on the part of everyone involved, including the local residents, commissioned artists, youth participants, and the City of Tucson itself. By investing the time, space, energy, and resources to create a safe and supportive space for community members to share their authentic stories, and by honoring these stories within the mural itself, a profound experience of trust and belonging was generated through our process. And, these phenomenal revitalization efforts––spearheaded and fully-fundraised by three of the original founding members of the Limberlost Neighborhood Association––are a testament to the very strength and unity that were inspired by the mural itself.”
––Pasqualina Azzarello, Lead Artist
In addition, former Youth Participant & Artist on Restoration Project Adam Cooper-Terán states:
"At just 14 years old, the original North Stone Avenue Mural project was my first job ever––and it completely changed the course of my life, giving me the confidence and self-assurance to pursue a career in the arts. I was introduced to the artists of the Warehouse Arts District and the local longstanding residents of the Limberlost Neighborhood, which led to establishing a community of mentors who fostered my creativity as I grew up, giving me opportunities time and again. At the time, I assumed that my age and relative lack of experience were hinderances, though in the context of this community mural project, I came to understand the valued perspective that I brought and inspired in others. Twenty years later, I am living my life as a self-employed media designer and technical director of various theater companies, bands, and arts organizations across the country. I am still grateful for this project for sparking the initial opportunity.”
––Adam Cooper-Terán, former-youth participant and Artist
HISTORY
From 1999–2001, a team of artists worked in partnership with the Tucson/Pima Arts Council (now the Arts Foundation for Tucson and Southern Arizona) and the Tucson Department of Transportation to create a permanent installation of artwork that has become known as the Stone Curves Mural. From the very start, it was clear that the value of this project was two-fold: not only would the mural add color and cheer to an area that at that time was comprised primarily of a large vacant lot and a 6’ x 630’ sound barrier wall that had been built in the 1980’s when the neighborhood had been divided with the Stone Avenue expansion–but this project also served to bring people together.
The original team of artists was comprised of Pasqualina Azzarello (Paint), Christina Devine (Ceramics), and Kim Young (Metal). They learned at the start that the most effective and efficient approach to their engagement efforts was to employ a practice of receptivity and responsiveness to the community we were serving. As such, they held a series of public engagement forums where community members could ask questions, express concerns, and could also share their personal stories and histories with their beloved neighborhood. When the residents were asked, “What would you like to see on this wall?”, meaningful memories and enthusiastic tales began to reveal themselves about watermelon patches, cattle farms, and a roaring river that had once run through the area where people would gather together to swim, picnic, and commune with the beauty of their environment.
This active and engaged approach served to create a foundation of trust in one another and it deepened the investment for this project among everyone involved. The two-year community effort also served to create a revitalized sense of belonging––both in the collaborative approach to actually creating the artwork and also in the artwork’s reflection of this neighborhood history.
In addition to the extensive community engagement process at the core of the North Stone Avenue Mural, the team also established a partnership with nearby Amphitheater High School and hired ten local high school students to assist with designing and fabricating the mural. Youth participants attended every community meeting and through their work at the wall site, they learned and practiced valuable skills like drawing, painting, problem solving, and working collaboratively.
Another significant outcome of the North Stone Avenue Mural was that the Limberlost Neighborhood Association was formed as a result of this process. As time passed and new initiatives and opportunities presented themselves to the neighborhood––for example, the cooperation of the Stone Curves Co-housing Community and the visioning and improvement of the Limberlost Family Park––a strong and vital neighborhood association was in place to successfully shepherd these projects along in ways that would ensure the consideration and engagement of all residents.
It is also important to note that this meaningful and effective community process would not have been possible without the tremendous vision, trust, and support of the City of Tucson the Tucson/Pima Arts Council (TPAC, now called the Arts Foundation for Tucson and Southern Arizona). In addition to the $90,000 project budget, the team of artists was provided with generous and exceptional guidance and support by Bob Peterson of the Tucson Department of Transportation and Beth Hancock from TPAC. Their leadership, partnership, and care served to fortify and empower the team of both artists and residents to make decisions along the way that have clearly proven to have had tremendously positive and lasting impacts.
· Establishment of the Limberlost Neighborhood Association;
· Influence of the design and location of the Stone Curves Co-housing Development;
· A $500,000 fundraising effort to enhance the beloved Limberlost Family Park;
· Protocols for requiring youth participation within the City’s public art initiatives; and
· Intergenerational, participatory civic engagement among local community members.
Public muralist Pasqualina Azzarello is the Lead Artist for the restoration efforts and was also a core member of the original project team who oversaw both the painting and youth leadership efforts, alongside Christina Devine (ceramics) and Kim Young (metal sculpture). Pasqualina reflects:
“The original North Stone Avenue Mural Project of 1999-2001 was a remarkable, intergenerational demonstration of empathetic community engagement and of what it means to lead with care––on the part of everyone involved, including the local residents, commissioned artists, youth participants, and the City of Tucson itself. By investing the time, space, energy, and resources to create a safe and supportive space for community members to share their authentic stories, and by honoring these stories within the mural itself, a profound experience of trust and belonging was generated through our process. And, these phenomenal revitalization efforts––spearheaded and fully-fundraised by three of the original founding members of the Limberlost Neighborhood Association––are a testament to the very strength and unity that were inspired by the mural itself.”
––Pasqualina Azzarello, Lead Artist
In addition, former Youth Participant & Artist on Restoration Project Adam Cooper-Terán states:
"At just 14 years old, the original North Stone Avenue Mural project was my first job ever––and it completely changed the course of my life, giving me the confidence and self-assurance to pursue a career in the arts. I was introduced to the artists of the Warehouse Arts District and the local longstanding residents of the Limberlost Neighborhood, which led to establishing a community of mentors who fostered my creativity as I grew up, giving me opportunities time and again. At the time, I assumed that my age and relative lack of experience were hinderances, though in the context of this community mural project, I came to understand the valued perspective that I brought and inspired in others. Twenty years later, I am living my life as a self-employed media designer and technical director of various theater companies, bands, and arts organizations across the country. I am still grateful for this project for sparking the initial opportunity.”
––Adam Cooper-Terán, former-youth participant and Artist
HISTORY
From 1999–2001, a team of artists worked in partnership with the Tucson/Pima Arts Council (now the Arts Foundation for Tucson and Southern Arizona) and the Tucson Department of Transportation to create a permanent installation of artwork that has become known as the Stone Curves Mural. From the very start, it was clear that the value of this project was two-fold: not only would the mural add color and cheer to an area that at that time was comprised primarily of a large vacant lot and a 6’ x 630’ sound barrier wall that had been built in the 1980’s when the neighborhood had been divided with the Stone Avenue expansion–but this project also served to bring people together.
The original team of artists was comprised of Pasqualina Azzarello (Paint), Christina Devine (Ceramics), and Kim Young (Metal). They learned at the start that the most effective and efficient approach to their engagement efforts was to employ a practice of receptivity and responsiveness to the community we were serving. As such, they held a series of public engagement forums where community members could ask questions, express concerns, and could also share their personal stories and histories with their beloved neighborhood. When the residents were asked, “What would you like to see on this wall?”, meaningful memories and enthusiastic tales began to reveal themselves about watermelon patches, cattle farms, and a roaring river that had once run through the area where people would gather together to swim, picnic, and commune with the beauty of their environment.
This active and engaged approach served to create a foundation of trust in one another and it deepened the investment for this project among everyone involved. The two-year community effort also served to create a revitalized sense of belonging––both in the collaborative approach to actually creating the artwork and also in the artwork’s reflection of this neighborhood history.
In addition to the extensive community engagement process at the core of the North Stone Avenue Mural, the team also established a partnership with nearby Amphitheater High School and hired ten local high school students to assist with designing and fabricating the mural. Youth participants attended every community meeting and through their work at the wall site, they learned and practiced valuable skills like drawing, painting, problem solving, and working collaboratively.
Another significant outcome of the North Stone Avenue Mural was that the Limberlost Neighborhood Association was formed as a result of this process. As time passed and new initiatives and opportunities presented themselves to the neighborhood––for example, the cooperation of the Stone Curves Co-housing Community and the visioning and improvement of the Limberlost Family Park––a strong and vital neighborhood association was in place to successfully shepherd these projects along in ways that would ensure the consideration and engagement of all residents.
It is also important to note that this meaningful and effective community process would not have been possible without the tremendous vision, trust, and support of the City of Tucson the Tucson/Pima Arts Council (TPAC, now called the Arts Foundation for Tucson and Southern Arizona). In addition to the $90,000 project budget, the team of artists was provided with generous and exceptional guidance and support by Bob Peterson of the Tucson Department of Transportation and Beth Hancock from TPAC. Their leadership, partnership, and care served to fortify and empower the team of both artists and residents to make decisions along the way that have clearly proven to have had tremendously positive and lasting impacts.
Organizer
Pasqualina Azzarello
Organizer
Tucson, AZ