By John Lynds
The city’s Director of the Mayor’s Mural Crew Heidi Schork revealed some of the panels that will part of an upcoming mural down at the East Boston Greenway.
Schork and the Mural Crew recently finished one mural in Eastie on Paris Street side of Dr. Dental that featured immigrants CarmelloScire and Veronica Robles. Scire immigrated from Sicily in the early 1930s and founded his own catering business. Currently run by Scire’s grandson Steve Scire, Sammy Carlo’s Delicatessen and Catering continues Scire’s dedication to community service, and has been located in East Boston for over 75 years. Next to Scire’s portrait is that of Eastie’s Veronica Robles. Robles is a cultural ambassador, educator and longtime community activist who immigrated from Mexico in 2000.
Schork said the mural the crew is currently working on will be placed on the Greenway under the Maverick Street bridge, and the theme will focus on Eastie’s grandmothers.
“We have a lot of wall to cover there, and we want it to be giant loving grandmothers of East Boston,” she said.
The mural of Eastie’s grandmothers will span generations from the early 20th Century to today.
Residents have been submitting pictures that give a sense of time and place and history, and bios of their grandmothers to Schork for a few weeks now.
Schork said that the idea to honor Eastie’s grandmothers came from the group of teens that work with her on the Mural Crew during the summer months.
“After meeting kids In East Boston where the Italian ‘Nonna’ or Latino ‘Abuela’ culture is prominent, and the patriarch of the family is celebrated I thought why not take that concept further,” she said.
The murals in Eastie are part of Mayor Martin Walsh, the Mayor’s Office for Immigrant Advancement and the office’s Mural Crew’s “To Immigrants With Love” public art campaign. The murals will be located in Eastie and Roslindale, and will celebrate immigrants’ contributions to Boston and their local communities, featuring past and present immigrants in each neighborhood.
“This project is designed to celebrate all heritages that make Boston the great city it is today,” said Walsh. “Immigrants throughout the centuries have contributed to the building of Boston, and our goal is to celebrate immigrants’ work, and foster civic engagement throughout the City.”
In addition to highlighting the economic and cultural vibrancy immigrants bring to their neighborhoods, “To Immigrants With Love” also connects immigrants to city services and resources via a campaign website.
“The arts are a powerful tool for bringing people together, and public art is an ideal way lift up and make visible the contributions of Boston’s diverse immigrants,” said Julie Burros, Chief of Arts and Culture for the City of Boston. “We’re proud the the Mayor’s Mural Crew will create this important art in communities throughout Boston.”