MuralArteGuate is a community orientated project I started in Guatemala to offer (free) mural paintings to schools,
clinics and other public spaces.
I love teaching and painting on a large scale, so creating murals in collaboration with local communities is a great fit. Sometimes I
paint my own designs, other times the theme of a mural is decided on by the beneficiaries and elaborated as teamwork. Since most schools, public clinics and
community centres can’t afford to pay for a mural, I'm always looking for
sponsors who are willing to help realize a permanent and socially engaged work
of art in and for the community.
Why murals?
Besides
beautifying the surroundings, murals are usually painted in public spaces and
thus make art free and available to the entire community. Murals can be
educational or informative and even break social, cultural or political
barriers. The community is involved in the process, regardless people’s talent,
skill or experience. A mural can help define the cultural identity of a
community and create community ownership. It can even become a landmark in the
community, inspiring and attracting more artists or visitors.
For more information and pictures, visit MuralArte Guate's website or page on Facebook.
Please get in touch (carinsteen at yahoo.com) if you are interested in sponsoring a mural or want to request one for a public space.
Previous Murals
Here
a selection of some of the murals I painted in Guatemala, Honduras and other countries.
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| Escuela San Bartolomé Becerra, Antigua Guatemala, 2019 |
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| San Cristobal el Alto, Antigua Guatemala, 2019 |
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| CasaSito headquarters, Antigua Guatemala, 2019 |
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| CasaSito headquarters, Antigua Guatemala, 2019 |
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| Shelter ATU Santa Isabel, Alotenango, 2019 |
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Nursing Home Fray Rodrigo de la Cruz, Antigua Guatemala, 2019
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| Blind Monkey Collaborative, Earth Lodge, El Hato, 2018 |
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| Municipality Alotenango, 2018 |
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| Unidos para los Animales Cat Sanctuary, 2018 |
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| PAAWS Cat Sanctuary Antigua Guatemala, 2018 |
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| PAAWS Cat Sanctuary Antigua Guatemala, 2018 |
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| Physiotherapy Clinic Living Colours, Antigua Guatemala, 2018 |
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| Comunidad La Esperanza, Chimaltenango, Guiatemala, 2018 |
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| Comunidad La Esperanza, Chimaltenango, Guatemala, 2018 |
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| Comunidad La Esperanza, Chimaltenango, Guatemala, 2018 |
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| Comunidad La Esperanza, Chimaltenango, Guatemala, 2018 |
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| San Antonio Aguas Calientes, Guatemala, 2018 |
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| San Antonio Aguas Calientes, Guatemala, 2018 |
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| Daycare Centre San Bartolomé Becerra, Antigua Guatemala, 2018 |
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| Daycare Centre San Bartolomé Becerra, Antigua Guatemala, 2018 |
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| Daycare Centre San Bartolomé Becerra, Antigua Guatemala, 2018 |
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| Daycare Centre San Bartolomé Becerra, Antigua Guatemala, 2018 |
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| Acatenango, Guatemala, 2017 |
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| Acatenango, Guatemala, 2017 |
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| Escuela Pública San Bartolomé Becerra. Antigua Guatemala, 2017 |
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| La Unión, Dominican Republic, 2017 |
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| La Unión, Dominican Republic, 2017 |
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| Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, 2017 |
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| Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, 2017 |
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| UPA Shelter, Antigua Guatemala, 2017 |
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| Brillo de Sol, San Gaspar Vivar, Antigua Guatemala, 2017 |
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| Brillo de Sol, San Gaspar Vivar, Antigua Guatemala, 2017 |
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| Hogar de Ancianos, Antigua Guatemala, 2017 |
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| Hogar de Ancianos, Antigua Guatemala, 2017 |
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| Salón Municipal, San Bartolomé Becerra, Antigua Guatemala, 2017 |
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| Salón Municipal, San Bartolomé Becerra, Antigua Guatemala, 2017 |
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| Centro Educativo Brillo de Sol, San Gaspar,Vivar, Antigua Guatemala 2016 |
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| Chimachoy, Guatemala, 2016 |
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| Chimachoy, Guatemala, 2016 |
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| Chimachoy, Guatemala, 2016 |
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| Hogar de Ancianos, Antigua Guatemala, 2016 |
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| Centro Educativo Brillo de Sol, San Gaspar Vivar, Guatemala, 2016 |
Mural at the Community Centre in Chimachoy, a Maya village high in the mountains, nestled between the volcanoes of Lake Atitlan and Antigua. Painted with the help of 7 high school students and thanks to the men of this community who plastered the wall. Sponsored by Richard Baars & family, Wendy Russell, Paul Willcocks and Marie-Therese Woltering, May 2015.
Two of a series of five small murals at the kindergarten Construyendo Sueños in Alotenango, Guatemala. Looking for sponsors for two more murals!
In
April of 2015 I went back to the ProNiño children’s home in El Progreso, Honduras,
to paint a mural on the newly built dorm, sponsored by the Dutch NGO
Colour4Kids. The design focussed on what boys age 7-11 might like while at the
same time expressing a positive message. “Everybody is a winner” is the title
of this mural, showing young “heroes” rescuing a fog, carrying a basket with
groceries and helping out a friend in a wheelchair.
For
the CasaSito Association I painted two murals, together with young adults in
Cobán Guatemala.
The first one was painted in the outskirts of San Cristobal, a Maya Poqomchi’ community.
The theme is the importance of secondary education, especially for girls who
unfortunately tend to drop out at an early age. Although I prepared the design
beforehand, fifteen CasaSito scholarship students (Age 12-17) were involved in
the process from beginning to end and were very proud of the result.
In
Ostua, a rural Maya Q’eqchi’ community nearby Cobán, the theme of the mural was
cultural identity. Depicted are a girl in typical dress and two dancers
performing the traditional Baile de los
Moro. This mural was painted in collaboration with ten young adults from
the community.
Theme of this mural is the
conservation of the scarlet macaw in the Valley
of Copán, Honduras. The scarlet macaw is an
important symbol in ancient Maya culture and still much valued, as well as the
national bird of Honduras.
The girl depicted is an actual student of the school, painted after a picture
taken when the “Guaras en Libertad” project visited the community, with a real
macaw. The kids are very proud of the mural and the fact that macaws fly over
the valley, sometimes even as far as this small village. Whenever someone
visits the school, the poor girl gets dragged out of the classroom to pose with
the visitors in front of the mural.
Each year the school in the small Maya Chortí village of San Rafael
organizes a terrific cultural event for the whole community. There’s dance,
theatre, music and a pageant show in which the “Queen of Corn” is elected. This
mural was painted shortly after the event. It is called “Children of Corn” and
depicts the 2013 Queen of Corn and one of the dancers. On the background Maya
glyphs representing corn.
I painted this 12-panel mural together with 12 adolescents of a
children’s home in one of the most violent cities of Honduras, The participants chose
the theme (violence in the community) and came up with the story lines about a
kid who gets robbed of his cell phone. A few days later he finds out his
assailant got assaulted himself. But instead of leaving him alone in his
misery, he decides to give the kid a helping hand and they become best friends.
The kids were very proud of their “new” dorm and still keep it in perfect
shape.
The volunteer home of an orphanage in El Progreso, Honduras, where I mixed (on
request) symbols of ancient Maya culture with portraits of contemporary Maya
children.
After a series of workshops about cultural identity for the students of
grade 5-6, I painted this mural combining elements of ancient Maya culture with
a portrait of a Maya Chortí girl from the community of ostuman, Copán Ruinas.
Pets are generally not taken well care of in rural Honduras, so this mural at a school
in a Maya Chortí community is all about respect for animals, as well as for
each other.
The number of girls dropping out of school before finishing sixth grade
is alarming in rural Honduras.
Hence this dedication to girls who continue there studies in a Maya Chortí
village overlooking the famous archaeological site of Copán. On the background
the inscription of Stela J, welcoming visitors to the main plaza.
The Honduran educational system basically consists of repeating, copying
and memorizing. Playing is not considered that important, but I don’t agree.
Hence this mural about the right to recreation with a quote by Albert Einstein:
“Play is the highest form of research.”
For this 22m long wall at a kindergarten I decided to paint portraits of
the students with backgrounds that represent the town: coffee, woodcarving,
cattle, Maya culture, agriculture. Ceramics and the local Ruby Waterfall.
On request by the community I
painted these two Maya women on the wall of a newly built clinic just over the
border in Guatemala. The images are from ancient vessels
“translated” into modern colours. The woman on the right welcomes the patients
in Maya Chortí.
