Adding to Austin’s impressive collection of street art, the Black Legacy Project has recently contributed some wonderful new murals to our city that pay homage to the culture and history of Austin’s Black community. This new public arts program and fundraising campaign aims to empower our community through education and inspiration. According to the co-founders of this program, the vision for the project is to “heal and inspire the world through art and community.”

The ‘Black Legacy Project’ started with a simple idea — We all have an important role to play in the Social Justice Movement. Our role as visual artists and curators is to use our artistry to facilitate change. Our project invites various local artists to collaborate on public art projects that not only bring life to blank spaces in our city, but also provide an outlet for connection to Austin’s Black history and culture.  — Zuzu Perkal & Ruben Esquivel (Co-Producers of the ‘Black Legacy Project’)

Artist: Sadé Channell; Photo: Tony Moreno.

The project currently consists of three completed large-scale murals located on S. Congress Ave., S. 1st St., and S. Lamar Blvd., with a fourth mural being painted before the end of the year. Each year the project will raise funds or different local nonprofits and support emerging artists of color. Each of these murals help to raise awareness of the campaign and assist in fundraising for the nonprofit beneficiaries for 2020:

‘Legacy’ Mural located at Spruce Upholstery (2005 S Lamar Blvd) ; Artists: Sadé, Niz, and Zuzu; Photo: Zuzu. The Legacy Mural features portraits of Dorothy Nell Turner (left) and Angela Davis (right).

On the left is Dorothy Nell Turner (1935-2005), one of Austin’s most beloved civil-rights activists and advocate for east Austin and the Black community. Dorothy was the first female assistant city manager and the City’s first African American personnel director as well as co-founder of the ‘Black Citizens Task Force’ with Velma Roberts.

On the right, young Angela Davis (1944-present), an American political activist, philosopher, academic, and author. She was a professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz, where she taught courses on the history of consciousness until 2008. Davis is known for her work as an advocate for gender equity, prison reform and alliances across color lines.

‘Seeds of Change’ located at StoryBuilt (1600 S 1st St.); Artist: Ruben Esquivel; Photo: Zuzu.

“Radical Transformation’ located at Home Slice Pizza (1415 S Congress) Artist: Niz. Photo: Zuzu. Portrait: Angela Davis.

Each of the public art projects have a QR code which viewers can scan to link directly to the online donation page and more in-depth information about the project and the artwork. There you’ll find a resource list with links to read, watch, listen, and learn about Black history and culture.

For more information, please visit blacklegacyproject.com.

*Cover image by Naedaze.

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