The view for those driving south on California Avenue near 24th Street in Little Village just got a little nicer with the installation of mural done by area youth. On Sept. 8, the Imago Dei arts-intervention youth program at St. Agnes of Bohemia Parish, 2651 S. Central Park Ave., unveiled its latest mural project on the side of the building housing Taller de José. The colorful 16-by-8-foot mural depicts images related to Taller de José’s ministry of accompanying those in need. The mural was painted on plywood using acrylic paints. Grant money funded the project. Imago Dei gets young people involved in the arts as a method of preventing violence. It’s a program of St. Agnes of Bohemia Parish that seeks to help at-risk youth in Little Village through mentoring, art and faith. Taller de José, a ministry of the Sisters of St. Joseph, has a twofold mission: connecting services to people and people to services, and also to accompany them on the journey. Early on in the project, Taller de José staff met with the youth to share their history and the work they do. This gave the youth the inspiration for how they could communicate that mission through the mural. The youth worked with artist Antonio de Leon. Once the design was approved, the young artists sketched it onto the plywood and began painting. They added a weather-proofing glaze at the end. Earlier Imago Dei murals were often commissions based on what clients wanted but with this project the young people came up with the ideas on their own. In the upper center is the organization’s logo, St. Joseph and a child. The youth included the train going through Chicago because Taller de José staff accompany clients, often on the train, to appointments or service providers. They also included the logo for the Sisters of St. Joseph, who sponsor Taller de José. “They came up with this of which we are extremely proud because they are showing pieces of Chicago, they’re showing faith and unity,” said Diana Cervantes, Imago Dei program coordinator. “It was completely 100 percent our youth.” The mural took a month and a half to complete and all work was done at St. Agnes of Bohemia. “Our main purpose is not to only show the beauty of art and what it can do but what it can do for the community,” said Gustavo Torres, one of the young artists. “In Imago Dei we are all images of God. Every piece, canvas or mural we make we want to reflect that.” Jose Espinoza, a junior at Rudy Lozano High School, has been a part of Imago Dei since elementary school when his friends started attending the program. The art attracted him, and since then he’s worked on several murals. He did mostly detail work on this one. There’s a lot of give and take within the group, he said. “We improvise a lot and try to make the best time of it,” he said. The mural was blessed on Sept. 8, which was the eighth anniversary of Taller de José and the Nativity of Mary. “This is a gift that we can give back to the community,” said Sister of St. Joseph Sister Kathy Brazda, cofounder of Taller de José. For more information about Imago Dei, visit www.stagnesofbohemia.org/Programs/ImagoDei.
Little Village street Masses bring message of peace, hope St. Agnes of Bohemia Church is holding street Masses throughout June and July in an effort to bring the Gospel message of peace and hope to the streets of the Little Village neighborhood.
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