Discover the power and potential in community-based public art

By Amber Hansen

Beginning in 2016, the community of Vermillion began adorning the side of the CoyoteTwin Theater with murals. Instead of hiring a single artist to design and paint an image, Vermillion decided to use a community-based approach to creating. In each project, there was a team of lead artists who facilitated design workshops, inviting members of the community to conduct research, share stories, create poems and draw together. The conversations and the communal imagining sessions inspired the imagery that would appear on the wall. The most recent mural was completed the summer of 2020, led by Reyna Hernandez, Inkpa Mani and Liz Skye.

This approach was utilized because community-based murals and the process used to create them have the capacity to help people see themselves and each other and to imagine and depict the future they want to inhabit together. In addition, the murals and process can help amplify histories that are less seen, crystallize the present and provide future spaces for cultural awareness and understanding. Since being introduced to this work by many professionals in the field, the practice continues to inform and evolve my perception of community and the value and potential of art.

I’ve learned there is power in the process that invites participants to see themselves as imaginers and creators, and guides them to see their uniqueness and connections. In addition, the process of engaging in communal art can open a door for people to engage in art that may lead to other civic actions. Engaging in community-based art has helped me value my unique skills and perspectives and to see how I can contribute and connect with my community.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Amber Hansen is a muralist and the co-creator of the documentary film “Called to Walls.” She is an Assistant Professor at the University of South Dakota where she teaches painting, and is the President of the board of the Community Built Association.

My story is not unique, as I have seen transformation in people who participate as well. The projects make clear that our experiences, our lives, our perspectives and communities are more complex than the media represents and it is our responsibility to collect and share our stories in order to create public spaces that are more meaningful and inclusive for everyone. More importantly, it has made it clear that all of this is possible.

A community painting day in Vermillion during 2019.

Community-based art extends far beyond murals and mosaics and the process can be used to create many new things. For example, communities across the world have imagined and constructed playgrounds, community centers, gardens and have used the process to address social justice issues and bridge gaps in communication through music, theater and storytelling.

In Vermillion, I continue to see the impacts of the murals ripple through the community—not only by the people who have come together to create them, but also through the conversations responding to the content and watching the mural become sites of gathering. I continue to believe in the power of murals, to celebrate our shared human experiences and to amplify the voices that are often unheard. I know many artists in South Dakota who work tirelessly to create work with and for their communities. If given more support, how could community-based public art shape the field and practice and how would our state’s unique geographic look stand out? In addition, how might community-based art shape our communities and how we understand and see each other? To learn more about the Vermillion mural project, go to www.vermculture.org/muralproject.