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THIS STORYcould begin with where we ended, like so many others. Like beginning on the last page of a book we've already read. When Amarosa Academy approached Artstart, the request was simple – listen to the voices that aren't being heard and use the walls to help them tell that story. This was no ordinary mural we would be painting.
Over the course of 1 year during this COVID-era collaboration, lead artists Erika Lutz, Alina Nuebel, and Kaya Rose, used this unique opportunity to take a different approach with the students of Amarosa Academy. Our artists began with 6 months of deep listening to develop mural concepts from the wisdom of collective understanding of what happened to these students. The teen students of Amarosa were gently guided to share their teen stories and reclaim their sense of place and belonging through creative skill building and the art of human connection.
A homage to the strange, beautiful, and sometimes difficult transitions the teen students are navigating, the playful and bold mural that was born out of that listening became a visual metaphor for their labyrinth-like journey of inner and outer transformation. The mural, a 480 ft long artifact of the collaboration, transformed the entire courtyard of Amarosa Academy – the people who were part of the epic journey along with it. We call this journey See You on the Other Side.
See You on the Other Side supported the social and emotional well-being of students by embedding community minded artists within schools. This partnership was made possible by a AB 86 Expanded Learning Opportunities grant and a generous community grant from Sonoma County Vintners Foundation. Like magic, our lead artists cultivated a community of over 100 people to join this calling, including the entire Amarosa student body and staff, an entire team of artists, and a wealth of generous volunteers.
So where did the story end? Turns out it's only just beginning.
Join our epic journey to see what happened at seeyouontheotherside.us
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