Brazilian Artists Put Dreams on Walls

São Paulo | June 20, 2012

Mural painted by afro-Brazilian and afro-American artists

Thirty feet high and 100 feet long, a tribute to the African heritage and modern aspirations of young Americans and Brazilians illuminates the entrance to the Prince George’s African American Cultural Center.  The majestic mural is the work of six young Afro-Brazilian artists who joined African American colleagues under the direction of Cultural Envoy Chanel Compton.

"This program is a unique opportunity for global communities to come together to share their histories and to discover connections,” said Chanel Compton, the center’s education director.  “This project has given our students a chance to learn about the history and culture of Afro-Brazilians.”  And the exchange has been mutual as the Brazilians have experienced something both similar to and unlike their own heritage.”

The project, which brought Andre Firmiano, Amanda Doria, Regina Elias, Bruno Pere, Guillermo Larrain and Glaucea Helena to Washington for 10 days was born in a similar mural designed and executed by Chanel Compton with underserved Afro-Brazilian artists that graces the entrance of Sao Paulo’s prestigious Afro-Brazil Museum.   Ms. Compton persuaded the Smithsonian Museum of African Art and The Brazilian Embassy to match funding with the Consulate in Sao Paulo to create this reciprocal program and expand the young artists’ sense of their communities, their heritages and themselves.