For the second time in a week, the Hattiesburg Alliance for Public Art – which is under the umbrella of Visit Hattiesburg – has unveiled a new mural in the Hub City.
The mural, titled “We Are the Future,” was completed by Miami artist Sergio Arce and is located across from Hawkins Elementary School on Forrest Street. Arce designed the mural to serve as an inspiration to the community’s youth and students.
The unveiling, which was held April 11, was attended by city and school officials, along with students from Hawkins Elementary.
“The work … was certainly a vision by many community partners,” said Marlo Dorsey, executive director of Visit Hattiesburg. “It’s a great day to be able to celebrate the beauty and diversity and creativity of our community.
“But it’s certainly wonder to have the future (the students) standing here with us. We all want to build our community and make it a better place, but we all know that we will no longer be in the trenches in the workforce, and we want to ensure that the work we do today will help provide a better pathway for our future leaders.”
The mural features the words “We Are the Future” at the top, above school items such as a microscope, test tube, pencil, magnet and chemistry chart. On the right-hand side of the mural is a student doing homework.
“For me, art is very important,” Arce said. “Art found me in the second grade, and it helped me through a lot of difficulties in my life, from mental disorders, poverty and a lot of things my rough childhood had.
“For me, it was a beacon of hope, so that’s why I try to engage children with these types of projects.”
The new mural is a HAPA project that is partially funded by members of Hawkins Elementary School and the Hattiesburg Public School District, with help from Ekklesia Hattiesburg. With 33 new murals now completed, HAPA has several additional projects in the works.
“This theme, ‘We Are the Future,’ is fitting because it acknowledges that preparation for tomorrow begins today,” said Robert Williams, superintendent of the Hattiesburg Public School District. “We pray that the mural inspires, encourages and motivates our students to not only dream big, but to set goals and work strategically to achieve them.”
Mayor Toby Barker said “We Are the Future,” is especially meaningful for him, partly because he is a member of Ekklesia Hattiesburg.
“I remember very early on in Ekklesia, one of our missions was to open the eyes of the students so their worldview – not only for the world around them and the community at large, but for themselves – could be broadened,” Barker said. “One thing about this mural that differed from previous murals … Sergio was really intentional about engaging the students.
“I can’t tell you just how much that means, that they could come out and visit with him … and he was able to engage the students who have kind of an artistic bent.
“(He) really opened their eyes to what they can do with their art, but also their career.”
Last week, HAPA unveiled its 32nd mural, titled “The Hattiesbirds,” located on the side of the Campus Book Mart building on Hardy Street. That mural was completed by national artist Kayla Newnam and depicts “The Hattiesbirds,” a band of birds playing various musical instruments on stage.
Above the band are the words “Midtown Hattiesburg.”
“Kayla really surpassed, for us, what we thought this vision would be,” Dorsey said at the unveiling of that mural. “We’ve had a lot of people come by and take pictures in front of (the mural) already.
“We anticipate tens of thousands of people a year to come and stand in front of it; it’s certainly Instagram worthy. We all know that we love our creative economy here, and we all know that we love the beauty and the diversity and the creativity of our musical past. We’re just so excited to see this vision.”
