Gilroy – There is an imaginary line running through the community center of the Monticelli Apartment complex separating the seniors living in the 26 units to the left of the building from the 26 multifamily apartments to the right.
In the past, the community center represented a division between young and old. But with the vision of one woman, some paint and resident input – the community center is now a unification of the two sides.
South County Housing unveiled its first mural in the community center of the Monticelli Apartment complex Thursday night.
“I think the mural is a great representation of bringing together both the seniors and the youth,” said Daniel Chavez, a neighborhood developer for South County Housing. “Just the size of it is kind of breathtaking.”
The five-panel mural stretches across two walls, and is a colorsplash of bright blues and deep oranges. It features a young woman making a wish on a dandelion. Her breath scatters the seeds across the sky. The seedlings float by the shoulders of an elderly woman bringing the life cycle full circle.
Each of the seeds has a word written on it such as love, family, respect and honesty – concepts taken from interviews the children conducted of the seniors in the complex.
“The kids were kind of surprised at how cool the seniors were,” said Victoria Salas, the artist who designed the mural. “They were able to relate. It opened the dialogue which was really good.”
The mural was Salas’ senior project at California State University, Monterey Bay. It took about a year to design and involved her combining the efforts of both the seniors and the children living in the housing development.
About 16 children dedicated two hours every week to interview seniors in the Monticelli Apartments and help sketch the mural.
“The idea came about by a collaboration of three groups including South County Housing, Mexican America Community Services Agency and the Ojo Mural Project,” Chavez explained.
Before Thursday’s unveiling, a little boy from the Monticelli complex kept walking back and forth across the room, trying to catch a glimpse of the mural, Chavez recalled smiling.
“I think people will have an appreciation for the work of the kids, the artist, and the community,” Chavez said.
