Juneteenth Murals

As part of Burlington’s Juneteenth 2021 festivities, Burlington City Arts (BCA) and the Office of Racial Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (REIB) commissioned three new murals for the City of Burlington. The goal of the project is to create space for reflection and rejoicing in the history, culture, and resiliency of Black Americans, and to employ the mural format as a tool for community learning. Mural locations include 149 Church Street, City Hall, the Burlington Skate Park, and 92 North Avenue. In our public spaces, these artworks acknowledge a period in American history that shaped and continues to influence our society today, and help move Burlington closer to its vision of being a vibrant, equitable place for all.

Burlington Skate Park Pavilion

The Silent Symphony

Egypt Hagan

Commissioned by Burlington City Arts and the Office of Racial Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Juneteenth 2021

The Silent Symphony is about being fearless and uniting as one. The young tribal women and man are displayed wearing traditional African wardrobes. With the tradition being passed down from our ancestors, they continue to honor these customs and maintain unity within their tribe.

Looking beyond, each individual shows that they are standing together, strong and fearless. The imagery conveys Juneteenth's significance, telling the story of strong African people who have endured so much, finally standing tall and fearless. It shows where our culture came from and where we are now. We have risen from the depths, we are free, we are loud, and we will continue to unite and fight with love and pride. The greatest symphony that was once silenced, is now for all to hear.

Egypt Hagan is an emerging artist and muralist from Los Angeles, California. She moved to New York where she held her first solo exhibition in 2014. Egypt currently resides and works out of Tampa, Florida. Throughout her work, Egypt uses portraiture as storytelling. “We as humans bare a unique story. I enjoy creating these stories not with the use of words, but bold images and an underlying vibrancy that emphasizes the main subject. My paintings consist of people or moments I've come across that have inspired my journey here on Earth, untold stories that deserve to be heard.” Egypt is well known for her vibrant colors and cultural images. Today, Egypt continues to work on numerous projects and commissions while exhibiting her artwork around the world.

149 Church Street, City Hall North Wall

Ferene Existing While Black

Tanya Talamante, Mixed Media Artist @tanya.talamante

Cynthia Cagle, Artist @cynthia.cagle.studio

Earrings by Aisha McLaren, Founder & Maker at Soul Simone @_soulsimone

Poem I Am From All of Me is Tired, April, 2021 by Ferene Paris Meyer (she/her),

Storyteller & Founder CEO of All Heart Inspirations

Commissioned by Burlington City Arts and the Office of Racial Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Juneteenth 2021

As you take in the mural, we invite you to use the QR code to listen to Ferene Paris Meyer read her poem, “I Am From All Of Me Is Tired.” This audio file contains explicit language

Ferene Existing While Black explicitly and implicitly signifies the emancipation of enslaved people celebrated on Juneteenth. The core concept of the mural is invisibility contrasted with the full vibrancy of Black identity.

Based on the poem “I Am From All of Me Is Tired,” by Ferene Paris Meyer—a local storyteller, mother, Vermonter, queer Haitian Black woman and the founder of All Heart Inspirations—the mural is also a portrait of Ferene herself. Surrounding Ferene are hummingbirds, flowers and

fruits native to Haiti, and traditional red Juneteenth foods meant to symbolize resilience. Her earrings hang down from the bottom of the mural, reflecting the light of her inner brilliance. In the background is the landscape of Lake Champlain backed by the Adirondacks, locating the image in the City of Burlington. Of significance are the gaps in the portrait revealing the landscape behind. The message is clear: there are parts of being Black in America that remain unseen. Invisible. We have cause to celebrate our history, but we need to be seen all the time.

The mural highlights the significance of Juneteenth not just as a vitally important moment of history, but as part of the richness of Black lives being lived joyfully and intentionally right now, today, in our city.

Listen to Ferene Paris Meyer read I Am From All Of Me Is Tired HERE. This audio file contains explicit language. Link to audio coming soon

Street art—especially murals—have a rich and varied history within Latin American culture. Murals can be a vehicle for personal expression, historical events, and political statements. Most importantly, urban murals often tell stories left out of mainstream narratives. Drawing on this history and their own backgrounds, Latina artists Tanya Talamante and Cynthia Cagle provide the foundation for a rich amalgamation of powerful female artists that root the project within the local community. Cynthia Cagle, a Chicana from Los Angeles, moved to Vermont in 2004. While in Los Angeles she created large-scale murals for the Pasadena Chalk Festival and designed and painted other public facing projects for local businesses. Since arriving in Vermont, Cynthia has taught art and pottery, as well as exhibited at various community locations. She has worked in many mediums, including graphite, oil, acrylics, watercolors, chalks, clay, charcoal and various inks. Tanya Talamante is Mexican by birth; she grew up in Tijuana, Mexico's border to San Diego, California in an artistic environment that exposed her at an early age to the world of art and design. She divides her time between her two studios in South Burlington, Vermont and in Los Cabos, Mexico, where she founded Studio TT Art School and Gallery, which evolved into, and continues to be the first formal school of art in Los Cabos. Her work curating art, representing artists, and offering workshops aim to create a better and safer world through the arts

92 North Avenue, North Wall

Absolute Equality

Oh My Murals

Commissioned by Burlington City Arts and the Office of Racial Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Juneteenth 2021

Absolute Equality draws on historical language, imagery from African culture, and symbols of Black equality to celebrate the Juneteenth holiday and Black emancipation.

A portrait of a non-specific Black woman centers the work as a symbol of Black empowerment, inviting people of color to see themselves in the image. Language from the Emancipation Proclamation, “henceforward shall be free,” represents the first legal basis for Black liberation from slavery. “Absolute Equality” is taken from the proclamation that Union soldiers read to the Black citizens of Galveston Texas on the original Juneteenth in 1865, letting them know for the first time that they were free from slavery. Clenched fists and the words “Black Lives Matter” symbolize resistance and the ongoing fight for Black equality, and also celebrate the progress that has been made towards the “absolute equality” that was promised on Juneteenth. A brushstroke motif and traditional African fabric patterns modeled after a West African batik process reference self-expression, cultural identity, and the richness of Black history.

Oh My! Murals is a New York City based mural painting team comprised of Tyler Ives and Sara Lynne Leo that originated in East Harlem to provide affordable, vibrant artwork to local small businesses. Oh My! Murals has now painted over a dozen murals in the New York City area and throughout New England. Tyler Ives is a mural painter, protest artist, and sculptor – winning an Emmy award for his work as the prop-maker on HBO’s Sesame Street. As a queer artist, Tyler’s personal artwork is outspoken against discrimination and inequality. Sara Lynne Leo is a mural painter, street artist, and mental health advocate, achieving wide-spread attention for their hand-painted and wheat-pasted street art throughout New York City. Sara Lynne is a gender non-conforming artist, and their artwork comes from their personal experience living with mental health issues. Sara Lynne’s artwork takes the form of hand-painted comics that offer witty, sardonic, and often therapeutic messages, giving the general public a platform to discuss their struggles with mental health as well as the general the toils of everyday life