The messages of appreciation to health care workers so far have come in donated plates of sandwiches and cookies, parades of police cruisers and fire trucks, flashing their red and blue lights. Today, the “thank-you” is coming through a new medium: paint.
POW! WOW! Worcester has brought local and international artists to Worcester over the last few years, adding dozens of murals and artworks to the city’s landscape. Now amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a new mural is taking shape with a message of positivity.
An image of a nurse holding a clipboard and the word “together” were slowly coming together via spraypaint outside the Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Center on Tacoma Street by artists Merk Aveli and Brandalizm.
In place of the letter “o" in “together,” there’s a heart.
Jessica Walsh, one of the POW! WOW! Worcester leads, said the idea for the mural and planning process came together in about a week and a half. While some parts of the mural design have changed through that time, the vision included a nurse from the start.
Walsh said POW! WOW! is keeping the production small and limiting the number of people at the site in an effort to practice social distancing.
Last year, POW! WOW! focused on Great Brook Valley, the neighborhood home to the Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Center. This one wall was left blank last year. So when the possibility of this mural arrived, it felt fateful.
“I just feel like this mural was supposed to be here," Walsh said. “The timing just worked out perfect and the topic of it worked out perfect.”
The artists worked through idyllic, sunny weather on Saturday, but likely will not complete the mural before rain comes on Sunday. They plan to finish sometime next week.
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