Community Bean Mural: Exploring creative ways to engage community and use extra crops for art

COMMUNITY BEAN MURAL: Perris, California 6/15/17

Perris, CA~ In late May, the Perris Green City Farm lead by Eduardo Sida and Jose Kabeer, agreed to embark on a journey to create a Community Bean Mural. The goal was to create a public art piece with the diverse range of residents that Perris has. With 3 weeks of planning and organizing, the event was set to take place on Thursday, June 15th,2017 @ the Perris Green City Farm.  The morning of the event, we had only 2 RSVP's and 2 staff members who committed to showing up. By the end of the event, we had a truly cross generational art piece. With 38 participants showing up ranging in ages from 4-68, we organically let our creativity prosper as we created the first in the City, and as far as we know, Community Bean Mural.

Jose Kabeer, leading the Bean Mural. The bean mural was inspired Kabeer said," By his own youthful days". When Kabeer was young he had created a Bean Mural  together with 10 children from his West-Side neighborhood in Saratoga Springs, NY. The mural is still displayed in the Saratoga Springs Public Library. Now residing in Perris, Kabeer saw the need for a community mural and the necessity to display more public art. Working with the Perris Green City Farm, over 38 community residents and children were able to help create the first ever in Southern California, :
COMMUNITY BEAN MURAL

A mother and her son, help draw the initial outline of the Bean Mural. The Mural Started with just a blank Masonite Board, 10 pencils and a communities imagination. Community members were instructed to draw a symbol or design that they felt represented the Perris Community. Many expressive and traditional designs were created. Among them were a hot air balloon, representing the Hot Air rides offered locally in Perris, a train, representing the historical Perris Depot and many cultural designs and symbols too.

 A very diverse group of youth, teenagers, adults and seniors, all helped create a piece of art, expressing the values and love of the Perris community. We had artist ranging from 4-68 years old!! We demonstrated a community mural, does not have to cost a lot of money or require a lot of materials.  The only materials used were, dry beans, pencils, wood glue and acrylic paint.




Pictured: Lavell  Kearney and Jose Kabeer. Lavell is the administrator for the Dora Nelson African American Museum located in Perris,CA. She stopped by to add local African American history symbols and designs to the mural. The mural took a total of 2 days to complete and a few extra days of touch up.  

 The mural represented many of the Aztec, Mexican and African traditional cultures of the residents of Perris.  The mural once completed, will go on a local tour throughout the City of Perris. First stop will be the Dora Anderson African American Museum, then the Perris Green City Farm, the Historical Perris Depot and the Boys and Girls Club.

The event was very energized and residents and community members came out from all across the little city of 65,000 to help out with the mural. Many were called and a few but awesome artist came out to help make history. Thanks Friends!