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On July 29 and 30 the 11th Class of Emerson National Hunger Fellows collaborated with Xavier Cortada, renowned muralist, and participants from across the United States to create “Hunger Exists Here,” a participatory anti-hunger mural. The mural serves as the culmination, or “Capstone,” project of the 11th Class, and is designed to be reflective of the Fellows’ experiences in the Fellowship, from food banks in Alaska to community gardens in New Orleans.
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| Xavier Cortada, “Hunger Exists Here”, 5 feet x 16 feet, mixed media on canvas, 2005 |
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The collaborative, interactive process of painting an anti-hunger mural for the Congressional Hunger Center (CHC) was an opportunity for policy makers, Members of Congress, community activists from towns and cities across the country, students, low-income individuals, and D.C. grassroots leaders to contribute their voice to the message that “Hunger Exists Here.” Participants in the painting process of this public mural included people affected by hunger, local and national anti-hunger leaders, and the public at large.
The central theme for the mural, “Hunger Exists Here,” challenges two common misperceptions. First, the notion that hunger is only a problem in the developing world is false; hunger exists domestically in our own communities. Second, the Fellows challenge the stereotype of who is hungry in the U.S. It is not only the homeless man on the street who is hungry; it is the working class family that lives next door as well.
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Xavier Cortada, “Hunger Exists Here”, 5 feet x 16 feet, mixed media on canvas, 2005 |
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A December 2004 report by the Economic Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported that 9.6 million Americans lived in households that experienced hunger in 2003. Many of this country’s hungry people walk through our cities and towns largely anonymous. They include the 75 year old veteran who skips meals to save money for rent, the working mother who gives her dinner to her children so that they don’t experience the pains of hunger, and the uninsured cashier who cuts a meal out of her daily diet to help pay off a large medical bill. These are some of the people in our communities that experience hunger on a daily basis. In the D.C. metropolitan area, approximately 400,000 residents are at risk of hunger, or are experiencing hunger. They do not know when and where their next meal is coming from.
The CHC anti-hunger public mural captures a diverse group of people’s thoughts, feelings, and experiences with hunger and poverty in our communities, drawing from rural backdrops to urban streets, throughout the country. Cortada is famous for his collaborative large-scale murals and community art projects for the World Bank, the White House, the Miami Children’s Museum, and more. He has worked with groups across four continents to produce m ajor projects like the International AIDS Conference murals in Switzerland and South Africa, and peace murals in Northern Ireland and Cyprus.
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| Xavier Cortada, “Hunger Exists Here”, 5 feet x 16 feet, mixed media on canvas, 2005 |
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The mural is a "collaborative message mural" which means that words, ideas, stories from community members and organizations were be gathered prior to the public painting events. This provided a unique opportunity to connect diverse populations and communities across the country with policy makers and advocates in D.C. Cortada, Emerson National Hunger Fellows, community members, and the public engaged in the interactive process at Union Station on Friday the 29 th, and the Market 5 Gallery at Eastern Market on Saturday the 30th. The high volume of crowds that frequent these public spots were solicited to participate. The thoughts of passers-by were incorporated in the project. Cortada fused peoples’ thoughts, drawings, and words into a mural, which currently hangs in D.C. Central Kitchen, (425 2nd Street, NW, in Washington, D.C.) a nonprofit community corporation that rescues and redistributes food and trains low-income individuals in culinary skills.
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Xavier Cortada, “Hunger Exists Here”, 5 feet x 16 feet, mixed media on canvas, 2005 |
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As they asked those who participated in the creation of the mural, the Fellows ask that viewers of the mural reflect on where hunger exists, who is hungry, why people are hungry, and how to eliminate hunger. Each reflection of participants and passers-by was collaged into the background of the mural, bringing together the diverse voices of individuals from throughout the country, because each viewer’s voice is needed in the fight against hunger.
More photographs of the mural being created are available in the photo gallery.
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