Armani Lewis | Eyes on the Streets

On a fence in Salem Massachusetts is a series of paintings by a group of artists who used the book “A Dream Called Home” as inspiration. The book is a memoir by Mexican-American author Reyna Grande and in it tells of her dreams of a stable home and how she makes it happen. Last year several artists participated in the project, including six local artists from the neighborhood. These are the murals on that fence.

Punto Urban Art Museum is the organization behind this project. It was founded by North Shore Community Development Coalition (North Shore CDC) in Salem’s historic El Punto neighbourhood. This fence is but one of their many projects.

below: “Teenage Mutant Ninja Tortugas” by Kearin Alexander Frias is on the left.

murals on a fence in Salem's El Punto neighbourhood, Dream of Home theme

below: Anatomically correct heart in blue hands, a painting by Llemonmoss.

mural, mutant teenage ninja turtle, using dominican turtles instead

below: Left – “Home Cooked Meals Feed the Soul” by Nick Pinciaro and on the right – “Vessel” by Amanda Beard Garcia.

two cooking theme murals on a fence in salem, on the right is person holding a rice cooker

below: Left – “My Father’s Keeper” by Emily Kwong and on the right – “Nou La” by Rachel Domond

two murals on a fence, a small tree is in front of the one on the left which is a man's face

below: There is text in the background that is difficult to see in this photo but it is a blend of two quotes from the book:  “You are now bilingual, bicultural, and binational. You are not less. You are more, twice the girl you used to be.” Painted by Yixuan Zeng