Flowers bloomed on cold, rough concrete walls and lit up the city.
On September 14, Salvation Army Bell Shelter in Bell, a city near Los Angeles, held a small concert and unveiled a mural on the outside of the building.
The mural is titled “Hope”. The painting depicts the Christian value of hope blossoming through the hands of Jesus in a desolate city.
It was painted by a group of 60 Korean middle and high school students and took over a year to complete. The 100-foot-long, two-story building’s exterior walls were their canvas. Even in the sweltering heat of summer, the students didn’t put down their brushes. They painted silently, stroke by stroke, without any professional help, in hopes of conveying the meaning of “hope”.
The project began in 2021. Students from three organizations, including Ariari21, a Korean-American youth art volunteer organization in LA, the Sinfonietta Orchestra, a music volunteer organization, and the National Youth Community Center (NYCC), a youth volunteer organization.
Students from Ariari21 painted the murals, while students from the Sinfonietta Orchestra provided music therapy and instrument lessons to the homeless. NYCC is responsible for coordinating the detailed planning and scheduling of the project.
“Every Sunday, the students went to the shelter and volunteered for five hours,” said Julia Jung, Chief Head of Program Director at NYCC. “The homeless people were very grateful, saying that although they had received help through donations, it was the first time they had been able to spend time with and support them as the students did.”
The Bell shelter is a facility for veterans who have become homeless due to mental illness, drug or alcohol addiction, or war trauma. It also houses other homeless populations.
The stark, factory-like exterior of the shelter, where people who have lost hope have gathered, has been revitalized by the Korean-American students’ project. Some of the homeless people participated in the mural work together.
“Some of the homeless people used to major in art, and they told us, ‘Your paintings make me happy,’ and ‘It gives me the courage to try again,’” said Yina Hong, Chairman of Ariari21. “The driving force behind the students’ persistence and efforts to paint in the hot sun was their desire to give them hope.”
“We wanted to use our passion for art to give back to the community,” said Julie Sok of Marymount High School, who participated in the project. “We thought that when people realize that they are not the only ones going through difficult situations, it would make them feel less scared.”
This is the students’ fourth mural. Two previously painted murals are at The Salvation Army LA Silvercrest Senior Housing in Koreatown, including the interior of the building and the exterior garden project.
The exterior painting, “Hope,” follows “Lighthouse,” a mural painted on the first-floor hallway inside the Bell shelter, and the completion of the paintings was accompanied by Sinfonietta Orchestra students who provided musical inspiration and encouragement.
The project also caught the city government’s attention. At the unveiling of the mural, Bell City Mayor Ali Saleh and Vice Mayor Monica Arroyo attended the ceremony and praised the students for their work.
“With this project, the city government of Bell took notice of the shelter and promised to support it,” said Jung. “The students’ small efforts have aroused great interest from the city.”
BY SUAH JANG, HOONSIK WOO [jang.suah@koreadaily.com]
