THE HIGHER WE CLIMB, THE FURTHER WE CAN SEE

Groundswell Community Mural Project ©
www.groundswellmural.org

Acrylic on Brick
7 x 107 Ft
2005

Lead Artist: Belle Benfield
Assistant Artist: Cara Earl
Youth Artists: Alexandra Flores, Julissa Soriano, Stephanie Delgado, Yasemin Kaynas, Mandy Liu, Wan (Rita) Lam, Kerry Chan, Ebony Thurman, Shui Yung (Emily) Zhang

Location: 781 Washington Ave (Corner of St Johns Pl. & Washington )

Community Partners: Brooklyn Museum and Heart of Brooklyn

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The Higher We Climb is the fourth mural in the Voices Her'd series, created to give young women the opportunity to say something meaningful about themselves to the greater community. The girls in the project came from a variety of backgrounds including Chinese, African American, Turkish and Latino. The group began the design process by discussing stereotypes, struggles and common experiences women share today. Participants were introduced to women artists including Faith Ringgold, Kara Walker and Judy Chicago. The Brooklyn Museum gave the participants a private museum tour where they had the opportunity to see Judy Chicago's, ‘The Dinner Party’, in storage prior to its permanent installation in the museums new Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art.

The Dinner Party was used as a starting point to look back at the history of the obstacles women of all ages, races and cultures have had to overcome: from witch-hunts to slavery to winning the right to vote. From looking at this history the role of women in today's society was examined, with a focus on the ongoing need to challenge and overcome continued discrimination and violence towards women. The group decided that they wanted the mural to show that each of us, male and female, has the power to achieve real social change and advance society for the better by acting together around a common need. Collectively, they chose to paint the mural in the style of a patchwork quilt, representing collaborative women's art.

The mural starts with images of the ocean. Waves break new ground, symbolizing progress. A woman is "swimming against the tide" as many women leaders have had to do over the years. Beside her is a young girl swimming in the "sea of her imagination", symbolizing the power each of us holds in our minds. The mural unfolds to pay tribute to Mae Jemison and Kalpana Chawla (the first African-American and Indian women in space) as well as Rosa Parks, Shirley Chisolm, Nina Simone, Harriet Tubman, Frieda Kahlo, Sandra Day O' Connor and Joan of Arc.