They Weren't Expecting This Large Of A Response, But London's Wall Of Hope Received Worldwide Recognition
BY Araceli Cruz | March 2, 2017 AT 12:07 pm
By Araceli Cruz March 2, 2017 at 12:07 pm
Facebook/@WallofHopeLondon
Love and support for Mexico is spreading far and wide.
Across the pond in London, a group of Mexican women extended kindness to counteract the anti-immigrant hate in the U.S. by creating a beautiful "Wall of Hope."
Credit: Wall Of Hope London / Facebook
Their small-scale but big-hearted effort invited the contributions of Latinos living in the U.K. and any others who feel that a wall will only divide us even further.
The organized event was held on Sunday, February 26, and gathering drew quite the crowd.
#nohumanisillegal #wallofhope
A post shared by Laura Apl (@laura_apl) on Feb 26, 2017 at 4:46pm PST
"We want to build a wall of hope," the group stated on Facebook. "Our wall is a mural that celebrates life."
For one entire day, the community in London gathered in front of the U.S. embassy and embraced Mexican culture with traditional art, music, and food.
Wall of Hope / Solidarity with Mexico / London Feb 26 #wallofhope
A post shared by Julian Martinez (@julian_mava) on Feb 27, 2017 at 6:55am PST
"Let's bring food to share, while enjoying building the wall and singing or dancing with performers and chanting our favorite slogans," organizers said on Facebook. "Ours is a wall that bridges, that unites and creates cohesion, that supports love and hope. Our wall is about us, all of us."
Beautiful handmade art covered this wall of hope.
The #wallofhope being built by global citizens in solidarity with Mexico for shared #humanity #wall
A post shared by Oli Perrins (@vocalswords) on Feb 26, 2017 at 6:59am PST
"On one side there will be a tree painted for people to hang their messages of hope and on the other side an altar that will be a celebration to life and that will be dedicated to people who have died across the border," Feregrino said to Noticias MVS.
Organizers also held a mini-fundraising campaign to help pay for the materials to build the "wall of hope." Their goal was to raise about $400 dollars and they accomplished it!
And they invited traditional Mexican dancers.
Mexicanos en Londres #wallofhope
A post shared by Guillermo Gómez García (@memogmzg) on Feb 26, 2017 at 7:18am PST
So beautiful, right?!
Paola Feregrino, one of the organizers, told Noticias MVS that this event was created to because of "a concern to be together as a Mexican community and of people who want to show their solidarity to Mexico."
An event like this in London is a sign of its growing Latino population.
CREDIT: Facebook/WallofHopeLondon
44 percent of London's population consists of ethnic minorities. Brazilians make up most of London's Latino population, with almost 55,000 living there, according to a 2011 census report. Mexican make up almost 10,000 of London's population.
Hopefully this is just one of the many events that will be organized by these incredible people.
#WallOfHope London building a wall of solidarity ????
A post shared by Paola Feregrino (@paofererod) on Feb 26, 2017 at 1:42pm PST
"Walls are used to build houses, schools, hospitals, community centers, churches and art spaces," organizers said on Facebook. "A wall of hope is a mural made of flowers, art and messages of peace living together."
READ: America Showed How Empty The Country Would Be Without Immigrants
What do you think of Latinos celebrating Mexican culture with a "Wall of Hope" in London?
Art Immigration Rights Mexican Travel
Yes, Someone Created An Actual Honest To God 108-Foot Vulva Statue In Brazil
By Cristal Mesa January 5, 2021 at 1:02 pm
BY Cristal Mesa | January 5, 2021 AT 1:02 pm
BUDA MENDES / GETTY IMAGES
There's no denying the fact that the female form, and it's bits, in particular, have inspired artwork the world over. Tarsila do Amaral was inspired by it. Frida Kahlo and artists like Zilia Sánchez and Marta Minujín too. Women's bodies are inspired and so they inspire. Still, a recent unveiling of vulva artwork has become so controversial and made people so besides themselves that it seems many have forgotten these truths about our bodies.
Over the weekend, Brazilian visual artist Juliana Notari revealed her latest sculpture, Diva, on a hillside at Usina del Arte. The art park is located in the Brazilian state of Pernambuco and is described by Notari as "a massive vulva / wound excavation."
The massive sculpture created on the hillside located in northeastern Brazil features a bright pink vulva and has fueled what is being described as a cultural war.
Feminists have erected a 33-meter statue of a vagina to promote killing more babies in abortions.
This is one of the weirdest things we've ever seen! https://t.co/DeoBBDfMgp pic.twitter.com/0X0967KCfH
— LifeNews.com (@LifeNewsHQ) January 4, 2021
Notari created Diva, a colorful 108-foot concrete and resin sculpture on the site of a former sugar mill. The mill was converted into an open-air museum in Pernambuco state. Last week, when Notari debuted the installation she revealed it was meant to depict both a vulva and a wound while questioning the relationship between nature and culture in a "phallocentric and anthropocentric society."
"These issues have become increasingly urgent today," Notari wrote in a post shared to her Facebook page which was shared alongside a series of photos of the sculpture. According to NBC, it took a team of 20 artisans 11 months to build the entire concept.
No surprise, the piece of art sparked a wave of controversy on social media, with critics and supports debating its message and significance.
Over 25,000 users have commented on Notari's Facebook post so far including leftists and conservatives. On the far-right, supporters of President Jair Bolsonaro have also been vocal about their views of the product.
"With all due respect, I did not like it. Imagine me walking with my young daughters in this park and them asking … Daddy, what is this? What will I answer?" one user wrote in the Facebook section of the post.
"With all due respect, you can teach your daughters not to be ashamed of their own genitals," a woman replied.
Olavo de Carvalho, an advisor to Bolsonaro, vulgarly criticized the piece on Twitter.
Notari, whose previous work has been displayed at various galleries explained on her Facebook page that she created the piece to comment on gender issues in general.
"In Diva, I use art to dialogue with…gender issues from a female perspective combined with a cosmopocentric and anthropocentric western society," Notari shared on her post to Facebook. "Currently these issues have become increasingly urgent. After all, it is by changing perspective of our relationship between humans and nonhuman, that will allow us to live longer on that planet and in a less unequal and catastrophic society."
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