BEAVERTON, Ore. — The rain didn’t stop people down from grabbing paint brushes and getting to work Saturday during Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District's fourth Talking Walls community art project.
The Talking Walls project was birthed last year in response to the social justice movement that followed the murder of George Floyd.
"We had this space and moment and conversations that we held with the community about creating spaces to listen to all these voices and thoughts, specifically from BIPOC youth," said organizer Lulu Ballesteros with Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District (THPRD).
She said the idea was to create a space for sharing hope, inspiration and purpose with young people in the community.
For Saturday's event, seven Latinx artists outlined seven different images depicting Latino culture on the walls of THPRD's Howard M. Terpenning Complex in Beaverton, and local youth helped add the colors between the lines.
"The artist sketches are beautiful and they really speak to the diversity of Latinx art here in the region," said Israel Pastrana, guest curator for Five Oaks Museum's history and culture exhibition.
The project was organized in partnership with the nonprofit Color Outside the Lines and Five Oaks Museum.
In addition to mural painting, the event featured a songwriting workshop, dancing and crafts to celebrate Hispanic and Latinx culture.
A Latinx art exhibit curated by Pastrana can be found on the Five Oaks Museum website.
