Young artists of Van Go celebrated the completion of their latest mural Friday evening with a ribbon-cutting and community gathering.
The mural, titled “Building Community,” visually represents the work that happens at GPW & Associates, a woman- and minority-owned engineering consulting firm — “an important distinction that speaks to leadership, resilience and representation,” said Lori McSorley, executive director of Van Go.
Gina Pacumbaba-Watson, president and CEO, founded GPW in 1998. She said it was “remarkable working with all the young artists.”
“You were so spot on, and you captured the culture of the company. You also captured what we do on a daily basis, and it just speaks for itself,” Pacumbaba-Watson said.
A plaque describes the intricacies of the artwork:
“Multiple figures collaborate with each other in order to facilitate efficiency and productivity in the workplace,” the plaque reads. “The gesture of a handshake, directional indications of speech, and implied sight lines suggest the importance of communication and relationship building. Each individual in this image has a task yet is reliant upon the connections they also maintain with others. Interwoven vertical and horizontal connecting structures, valves, and plugs are indicative of features found in HVAC, mechanical, plumbing, electrical, and refrigeration systems.”
The mural was created by the 18- to 24-year-old artists in Van Go’s Arts Train employment program.
Gabriel Sears, one of the artists who worked on the mural, told those in attendance that he first became involved with Van Go in his first year of high school, and that it had made him the artist he is today.
“Although my time in the Arts Train has come to an end, I still look forward to coming back to ‘help around the house,’ so to speak, paying homage to the place and the people who have helped me become who I am today,” Sears said. “Because Van Go really is just the bee’s knees.”
The mural is painted on six aluminum composite panels installed on the stucco wall and can go with GPW if the company moves from its current location, 1001 New Hampshire St.
Artists who worked on the mural include Maya Amen, Mo Border, Fox Butler, Shaniya Calkins, Avi Carter, Charysse Gonzalez, Ze Miquiztli, Ro O’leary, Mary Ramirez, Jasper Salazar, Fletcher Sanborn, Sears, Brooklyn Sheperd and Raimsey Stiller, according to the mural’s plaque.
Van Go is an arts-based nonprofit that employs and provides social services to Douglas County teens and young adults ages 14 to 24. Learn more about Van Go on its website, van-go.org.
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Molly Adams (she/her), photojournalist and news operations coordinator for The Lawrence Times, can be reached at [email protected]. Check out more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
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Molly Adams / Lawrence Times
