During the Spring of 2022, I was invited to work with a group of bilingual high school students at Dillard McCollum High School on the south side of San Antonio. The students had recently gained permission to transform a storage closet into a DREAM Center for students who may be bilingual or from other parts of the world. They wanted to create a mural in the space that represented who they are and created a safe space for future students.

We followed a process similar to community-based processes used for other murals where we collected the input of all the students in the group and began to synthesize the ideas into what they wanted on the wall. This involved group discussions, finding reference artists, and doing research on symbols and colors they wanted to use to tell their story.

I facilitated the brainstorming process and the creation of the sketch and mock up of the design the students wanted to paint. The students learned traditional methods of mural creation including gridding their wall and drawing the mural out. Over the duration of about 2 weeks, the students came to paint the mural between classes and during specific periods. Students who claimed to not be artistic as well as those with strong interests in art all participated in the project.

In the end, a mural was created featuring a globe in the middle of the composition. The students wanted to create something with a message about how they all come from different places, but create one community; the globe in the image features the outlines of South America and North America with the portraits of current and past students within the shapes.

Surrounding the globe is a rainbow ring being held by multiple hands of different races. The students wanted to express their support for the LGBTQ+ members of their group and community as well as a sense of support for peace from all races. Monarch butterflies, a popular symbol for migration, are seen flying throughout the composition, each painted uniquely by the students.

Around the globe is also a saying the students created in Spanglish, “Everything begins con un sueño - Humanity has ningunas fronteras - Juntos we are family.” This translates in English to “Everything begins with a dream - Humanity has no borders - Together we are family.”