On Friday, June 1, From the Ground Up Community Garden will officially present a mural by Hand in Hand Creative that lines the garden’s shipping container on 501 N. Hayne St.
Hand in Hand Creative is made up of Pensacola natives and collaborative artists, Andrew and Sarah Wilson, who have setting out to create public art using words and visuals that speak of and to communities.
Sarah McCartan Wilson was a writer for Inweekly for four years (2011-15), covering primarily music, arts and food but she also did some remarkable cover stories. Three of my favorite articles that she wrote were the People of Pensacola (POP) Facebook page, Meet the ‘Faces of HIV’ and Eat Street.
Sarah said of her Pensacola mural project: “The garden is a community space we are personally drawn to and believe in. Having the opportunity to create a piece of work that is representative of such a special place has been a beautiful partnership.â€
For this project, Hand in Hand also partnered with youth, working with the help of scholars from Dixon School of the Arts. Students received hands-on opportunities, learning the preliminary steps of creating a mural, including prepping a canvas, painting a background and utilizing a grid method to transpose an image.
“Having the students involved with this mural really represents the kind of community partnerships we hope to do more of with our work,†said Andrew. “Ultimately we hope this experience allows each student to take with them new skills and confidence.â€
The community is invited to see the finished artwork and meet the artists from 6 to 7 p.m., before Sugarcane Jane performs. Learn more about Hand in Hand at handinhandcreative.org
From the Ground Up Community Garden is a project of Innisfree Hotels’ corporate social responsibility program, The Hive. To learn more about The Hive and Innisfree Hotels, visit innisfreehotels.com/corporate-social-responsibility-program/.