Frank Porter Graham Bilingüe Elementary School’s inaugural artist, Antonio Alanís, has been working with students on a mural that celebrates diversity and will be completed before Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools begin classes on August 29.
His residency began in May 2022 with the goal of making a mural to address cultural pride, community building, and multiculturalism, among other topics. Alanís said the project also helps students take advantage of their artistic gifts.
Alanís said he always knew he wanted to be an artist and now works in this field full time. He was a former Spanish teacher who began his teaching career and said he has over six years of non-profit experience working in the profession.
Alanís added that he appreciates the representation of Latin American experiences in his work.
“A lot of the work I do comes from my Latin American heritage and background,” he said. “I really like the bold colors of Latin America—the excitement that comes from being from such a rich culture and having designs that include Latin America.”
Frank Porter Graham Bilingüe Elementary School’s mission is to “develop bilingual, biliterate and critically aware students who are prepared to engage, contribute and lead in the communities around them,” according to their website.
Alanís said the collaborative mural portrays the values of the students who describe what Spanish means to them. He noted that the mural is informed by the students’ decisions and the multicultural aspect of working at a school that values speaking and learning Spanish.
Kat Rangel, the school’s assistant principal, said Alaní’s mural helped make the school more vibrant. It is located in the library, which she described as the heart of the learning center.
Rangel noted that the bright and colorful mural can be found on two large walls.
One of the walls depicts a landscape scene with a tree that includes animals such as a lion and parrot. The other is an illustration of a sea scene with fish, sea turtles, an octopus and other aquatic animals.
“Alanís embodies what we hope our students can be in the future,” said Rangel. “He was the right match for our school – he is bilingual and bicultural himself, and we knew he would honor our students.”
Alanís holds his work close to his heart. He emphasized the importance of appreciating community art and helping students understand that art can be found everywhere.
He said that he also talked with the students about the inclusion of mathematics in his art.
“There are fractions, there are color mixes and all these things that we don’t normally think about,” he said. “The residency showed how science and mathematics are interconnected in something as aesthetic as a mural.”
Kristin Baillie, an intervention specialist at the elementary school, said Alanís was excited to expand his work as a muralist with the bilingual elementary school. She said she first noticed him walking around campus smiling.
“He certainly has one of those spirits you can see,” Baillie said.
Baillie added that everything done at the school is designed to raise the idea of bilingualism and show students the importance of being proud of their culture, the font of knowledge, the world they come from and how to share it with other people.
Alanís said that as a full-time artist in the area, he will continue to look for ways to give back to the community.
“I believe that education has the power to change lives,” said Alanís. “I think when people have the ability to know what’s available to them, starting with understanding that there are resources available and open to them, we’re able to use that knowledge and apply it to something.”
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