Through poetry, portraiture and the portrayal of joy, Liberation Through Imagination celebrates youth and families in our community. Portraits of South End youth and families are depicted with pollinator wings that integrate shapes painted by community members, representing the artists’ Afro-pollinator theme in their Afro-futuristic style. The design also incorporates Afro-Indigenous and native botanical elements, while the poems are excerpted from the 2021 Juneteenth youth poetry contest winning submissions and rendered in the artist’s handwritten style.
The mural was commissioned to bring new life and energy to the old Street Department building and Burlington’s creative corridor at a critical time of reopening in the pandemic.
Designed by Jennifer Herrera Condry and Will Kasso Condry
Painted by Will Kasso Condry
Assisted by Jennifer Herrera Condry, Alexa Herrera Condry, Will Gebhard, Sierra Condry, Cameron Steele, Liz Amaral, Scottie Raymond, Will C, Jade Lai Xian, Julia Ciotti
Reference Photographer: Alexa Herrera Condry
Artwork Contributions from Burlington youth and families, and King Street Center youth
Reference Models: Cora Smith, Calvin and Franklin Millham-Berry, Hawa and Rukiya Awayle, Anyier Manyok, Mateo Baker, The Abdirahman family (Mohamed, Naima, Ahado, and Nasra)
Youth Poetry Excerpts: Nala Soleil Meyer, Aimerance Badibanga, Jaden Gomez, Mateo
Commissioned by Burlington City Arts, the Burlington Police Department, Burlington Permitting and Inspections, and the Church Street Marketplace
Juniper Creative Arts is a Vermont-based Black and Dominican family collective with a mission-driven practice of creating art that involves and celebrates historically excluded communities. They facilitate community mural projects with colleges and universities, K-12 schools, and community-based organizations, and educate on the history of muralism in the United States and the value of community murals and graffiti as forms of democratic art. They use visual art and murals to lift up the voices, images, and people that are often left in the margins. Juniper Creative consists of lead artist Will Kasso Condry, creative director and concept designer Jennifer Herrera Condry, and photographer and arts apprentice Alexa Herrera Condry. Their work centers on using mural arts as a vehicle for community-building, beautification, and healing.
