150 Special Needs Artists Behind New Mural at Transportation Center

CCB MEDIA PHOTO Jim Hurley, Managing Director of Cape Cod CAN!, unveils the new mural at the Hyannis Transportation Center.

CCB MEDIA PHOTOS
Jim Hurley, Managing Director of Cape Cod CAN!, unveils the new mural at the Hyannis Transportation Center.

HYANNIS – Fish, whales and seabirds made of colorful beads and found objects are all part of a large mural unveiled at the Hyannis Transportation Center this week.

A collective gasp, applause and many “wows,” could be heard as Jim Hurley, managing director of Cape Cod CAN! (Collaborative Arts Network), removed the covering from the nine foot by eight foot tiled map of Cape Cod.

Each of the more than 300 six inch square tiles was designed individually by 150 people with disabilities. Many of those people were there for the unveiling with their families.

The mural, entitled “Bringing Cape Cod Together ‘Piece by Piece’,” is a project by Cape Cod CAN!, which is devoted to providing opportunities for access, inclusion and active participation in the literary, visual and performing arts for people living with disabilities on Cape Cod.

CCB MEDIA PHOTO Applause and looks of amazement greeted the unveiling of the new mural.

Applause and looks of amazement greeted the unveiling of the new mural.

The project was supported by a grant from Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank.

The bank’s President and CEO Dorothy Savarese said the project has a number of elements that made it interesting for the bank.

“We absolutely couldn’t say ‘no’ to this one,” she said. “One thing that Cape Cod Five loves is collaboration.”

Savarese listed the elements that appealed to the bank. “It supports our long-standing support for people who are physically and mentally challenged. We’ve been an enormous supporter of the arts community,” she said.

CCB MEDIA PHOTO Cape Cod CAN Art Director Tessa D'Agostino poses in front of the mural with Jennifer Stratton, who worked as a teacher on the project.

Cape Cod CAN Art Director Tessa D’Agostino, left, poses in front of the mural with Jennifer Stratton, who worked as a teacher on the project.

The map also celebrates the history of the Cape, she said.

“But more than anything else, this collaboration ended up producing something amazing, all the artists producing something so beautiful that’s now a community resource,” she said.

And the bank has another important connection to the project. The 1858 map that was used as the basis for the project, hangs in the bank’s operations center, Savarese said.

Among those in attendance at the unveiling was Tessa D’Agostino, a local artist who served as the art director on the project for Cape Cod CAN. She worked with mural consultant Cris Reverdy and other artists and teachers to assist the people with disabilities on their work.

D’Agostino said after working on the individual tiles, seeing it all together was gratifying.

CCB MEDIA PHOTO A detail from the mural.

A detail from the mural.

“It’s amazing to see it all come together because I’ve been working with Cris Reverdy with assembling all these tiles together. So we’ve been looking at it close and each one is really beautiful, but then to see it come together and step back and see the full nine foot by eight foot piece is just stunning. It’s absolutely beautiful,” she said.

D’Agostino talked about working with the people with special needs on the project.

“It was really inspirational, just to see everybody’s personal decision making, what they chose to use. There were certain color patterns and shapes for them to follow but they got to pick whatever materials they wanted. So to look up close at individual six inch by six inch square tiles on this mural, you see everyone’s personality,” she said.



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