Olivia Gross Photo
New mural on the side of the Hillside Community Shelter.
Kwadwo Adae, center, with his son Kwasi and Katherine Tombaugh, assistant muralists.
Artist Kwadwo Adae unveiled a new 45-foot-high mural in The Hill neighborhood on Thursday -– and this one is there to stay.
The new mural, entitled “Everyone Deserves to Come Home to Flowers,” covers the side of the Hillside community shelter at 124 Sylvan Ave. Assistant muralists Kwasi Adae, Katherine Tombaugh, and Nicole Andreson helped Adae paint the mural, along with neighborhood children.
Josiah Baez, who helped paint the mural.
There used to be a smaller mural on this same wall, but it had been vandalized with graffiti. Christian Community Action approached Adae in 2019 to see if he could fix it. He suggested a new mural -– one that would take up the entire wall. Read more about the creation process for this mural here, and read more about the 45-year-old Ghanaian-American artist here.
The mural is designed to have a mirroring effect of pinks, grays, yellows, and indigos, reaching for both the sky and the sidewalk. Adae said that he paints flowers to help brighten his life in his darkest moments. He chose orchids because of their resilience and beauty.
“I don’t want anyone to feel like they don’t deserve a flower,” said Adae.
The bottom right corner of the mural.
This is Adae’s first mural in The Hill. He said that the neighborhood was welcoming during the project. Neighbors left out ginger ale and cold water for the painters during the heat wave. “If you live where you live, I hope you can find a way to go deep in that neighborhood. Everyone loves their grandma; everyone makes good food. There is not much difference at all,” he reflected
The Urban Resources Initiative is set to plant a tree across the street from the mural. It will be an Eastern Redwood, chosen for its heart-shaped leaves and colors that will match the mural.
Rev. Bonita Grubbs at Thursday's event.
Rev. Bonita Grubbs, who has run Christian Community Action since 1988, said the mural will provide a new light to the community: “Each one of us has that responsibility and opportunity. To brighten.”
Ice the Beef members prepare to hand out flowers to the women residing in the shelter.
The youth-led, anti-violence group Ice the Beef attended the opening, loaded up with flowers to give to the shelter’s residents.
Mayor Justin Elicker reflected on the symbol of the orchid. He thanked Adae, saying, “you’ve watered, nurtured, and put sunlight on our city.”
Filmmaker Travis Carbonella has followed the mural’s growth and plans to make a documentary. It is set to be screened at Westville’s Open Source Festival in October.
The opening ended with Adae thanking all of the people who had helped with the project.
Grubbs walked back to the front and said, “And thanks to you.”
Adae looked back at the mural. “You’re welcome,” he said.
That is so cool - Nice - Rico Suave of you.
"I wishie for to do swirling dervish dance in front of"