Artist E'lla Aimee Webber: Mural Focuses On Black and Brown Families
When you hear of Southeast and Southwest Grand Rapids, some immediate words that come to mind are shootings, asthma, and lead paint, to name a few.
One West Michigan-based nonprofit, The Diatribe is aiming to shift this perception through a new project launched today. The "49507 Project" is a People of Color—LGBTQ+, and youth-led project using education, community listening ing sessions, research and art to shift the narrative in the 49507 neighborhood to resiliency and beauty. In this interview with the Grand Rapids Times, Artist E'lla Webber whose mural is located on the building located at 703 Eastern Ave talks about accepting the challenge of painting a mural, participating in listening sessions, the Black family and more.
GRT: How did you get affiliated with the Diatribe?
Webber: I got affiliated with the Diatribe through Marcel Price who reached out to me on social media and asked me to do a mural. I told him of course, because it was paying big and it sounded like an interesting challenge to me.
GRT: Did you also take part in the listening sessions at Ottawa Hills High School?
Webber: Yes I was apart of the listening sessions and I loved the sessions because it was a community effort for each of the seven murals with different leaders in the community as well as students and residents in the 49507 area code.
GRT: Were you impressed with the ideas from the students and what they wanted to see?
Webber: I was extremely impressed. The students wanted to see togetherness, smiling faces, families and Black and Brown faces. I was very proud to hear them speak up and say that they really wanted to see Black faces. They didn't hide what they wanted to see and I gave them what they wanted.
GRT: What idea were you trying to convey through the painting of your mural?
Webber: With my piece, I wanted it to bring us back to our original roots and where we started. I grew up in the 49507 area and right now with regentrification going on, our Black faces have been taking out of the community and that's really what the 49507 Project is mainly about. So in my piece I wanted to make sure that people saw the Black faces. Because I am stemming back to our African roots, because Africans of course have such strong facial features so I really wanted my piece to stand out inside an African American space.
GRT: What are the three women doing?
Webber: The three women are just sitting around laughing and we don't really see too much of that any more. We don't see people sitting on porches and just having a good time with their family and friends in the community. The women are also very comfortable. They have on scarves and are just relaxed and enjoying one another's company. On the other side of my mural you see a family unit. We don't see a lot of families sticking together. A lot of the time Black men are stereotyped as not being with Black women, him not being with his family, his wife not standing by his side and not backing her man up. We are known to be done with one relationship and being on to the next one. The right side is bringing in the family background with the woman standing behind her man and him holding his child. You never really see Black families walking down the street together any more so I wanted to show that it is okay for us to be seen walking down the street with our families and have a great time.
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