2015 Artist-in-Residence: Ricardo Gonzalez
ArtLink's Artist-in-Residence program began in the winter of 2015. Our first artist-in-residence was a graduate student from Kendall College of Art & Design, Ricardo Gonzalez, who worked on a mural with select students from Cook Arts Center.
The mural, titled Con Ganas, addresses the history of the Grandville Avenue neighborhood, and is located in the Gallery Parking Ramp at 8 Commerce, Grand Rapids, MI, next to the Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts.
Cook Arts Center Teen Artists:
Karla Aguilar-Delgado Noemi Gonzalez
Donny Hernandez Celeste Hicks
Antonio Jaimes Ignacio Lopez
Dulce Loredo Avelycia Ortiz
Alejandro Ruiz Miliani Sanchez
Statement from the Artists:
This mural was created by the Cook Arts Center Teen Leaders, a program of Grandville Avenue Arts & Humanities, in partnership with Kendall College of Art & Design, Grand Valley State University Kutsche Office of Local History, and SiteStudio. These images were chosen and created by teens living in the Grandville Avenue neighborhood on the SW side of Grand Rapids. With the help from the Kutsche Ofice staff and KCAD graduate student Ricardo Gonzalez, teens spent 7 weeks learning about the history of the SW side; studying images from street art and inner city murals and making sketches of things they saw in or around their neighborhood.
They chose to include images of Latin@ man and woman to represent the people of the neighborhood, along with images that represent the people of the neighborhood, along with images that represent the different styles of art and music that are so prevalent. The multi-racial hands holding a flower represent the different cultures living and working together peacefully in the neighborhood and other items like street signs, the iconic Virgin Mary, houses, and paletas (Spanish for popsicle/ice cream), represent items from their every day experiences. The students hope to bring some of the vibrant colors and beautiful parts of their culture into downtown Grand Rapids to share with passersby.
The mural, titled Con Ganas, addresses the history of the Grandville Avenue neighborhood, and is located in the Gallery Parking Ramp at 8 Commerce, Grand Rapids, MI, next to the Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts.
Cook Arts Center Teen Artists:
Karla Aguilar-Delgado Noemi Gonzalez
Donny Hernandez Celeste Hicks
Antonio Jaimes Ignacio Lopez
Dulce Loredo Avelycia Ortiz
Alejandro Ruiz Miliani Sanchez
Statement from the Artists:
This mural was created by the Cook Arts Center Teen Leaders, a program of Grandville Avenue Arts & Humanities, in partnership with Kendall College of Art & Design, Grand Valley State University Kutsche Office of Local History, and SiteStudio. These images were chosen and created by teens living in the Grandville Avenue neighborhood on the SW side of Grand Rapids. With the help from the Kutsche Ofice staff and KCAD graduate student Ricardo Gonzalez, teens spent 7 weeks learning about the history of the SW side; studying images from street art and inner city murals and making sketches of things they saw in or around their neighborhood.
They chose to include images of Latin@ man and woman to represent the people of the neighborhood, along with images that represent the people of the neighborhood, along with images that represent the different styles of art and music that are so prevalent. The multi-racial hands holding a flower represent the different cultures living and working together peacefully in the neighborhood and other items like street signs, the iconic Virgin Mary, houses, and paletas (Spanish for popsicle/ice cream), represent items from their every day experiences. The students hope to bring some of the vibrant colors and beautiful parts of their culture into downtown Grand Rapids to share with passersby.