Community Comes Together to Dedicate Mural at Mesa Verde Community Center

November 28, 2018

The Department of Family and Community Services, the Harwood Art Center, and Middle School Students dedicated a mural at the Mesa Verde Community Center (7900 Marquette NE) today so families in the area may have the opportunity to enjoy public artwork. Thirty students from Garfield and Hayes Middle School worked twice a week, for eight weeks, after school to create a two-paneled mural called "Collective Memory.”

The mural was a STEAM project that has examined fish that have disappeared or struggled to survive in the Rio Grande. These fish became symbols for losses that people have experienced and survived in their own lives.  "Collective Memory" is a mural about hope, fear and resilience.

“This is truly a ‘One Albuquerque’ project,” stated Mayor Tim Keller. “The City partnered with APS schools, in connection with a youth-serving organization to teach and inspire students while creating public art for the community. What a great way to engage with young people and create a beautiful work of art.”

Harwood Art Center started the Youth Mural Project in 2013 at Garfield Middle School, extending its reach to Hayes Middle in 2016. Harwood Art Center's Youth Mural Project is free to every participant and its students are representative of the diversity that shapes New Mexico.

Youth Mural Project students have created 16 murals to date: 10 at Garfield Middle School, three at Hayes Middle School, and three public murals including "Seasons of Life and Healing" at the UNM Community Clinic on 4th Street, "We Are the Hive" at the BioPark and "Collective Memory" at Mesa Verde Community Center. This spring, students will work with the new Animal Care Center on 2nd street to create a public mural to dedicate to the new facility.

For a complete list of Community Centers operated by the Department of Family and Community Services, visit cabq.gov/family.