The vibrantly colored mural hangs alongside others on a Columbus Avenue fence just off the banks of the Housatonic River. It’s the product of a collaboration between Conte Community School and Westside Legends, a group dedicated to celebrating the neighborhood’s rich cultural history. On the day of the mural’s installation, WAMC caught up with community activist and Berkshire NAACP chapter member Kamaar Taliaferro to find out more.
“Over the summer of 2021, I collaborated with the Westside Legends on this big vision for redefining agritourism in Berkshire County with a specific focus on how we could have a better relationship between lower income people and neighborhoods like the Westside and the tourism economy writ large in Berkshire County through agriculture,” he told WAMC.
With the support of local backers the Crane Foundation and Greylock Federal Credit Union, the project has seen multiple plywood murals painted by community members go up on the streets of the Westside. For Taliaferro – with his encyclopedic knowledge of Westside history – the empty lot that now bears the murals on a chain-link fence is a perfect home for the art pieces.
“Once upon a time, there was a building known as the Flatiron Building," Taliaferro explained. "It was triangular, it was three stories, it was brick. There was, like 12 units, and so really dense. And it was housing for millworkers who arrived in Pittsfield at the end of the 19th century and into the 20th century. So, that building was purchased by a group known as the Afro-American Society, which was the – how do I want to say it – sanitized, and, I don't- It wasn't even sanitized. It was another word for the Black Panther Party in Pittsfield. And it was a group of African American youth and young adults who came together and wanted to see a change in their community.”
By the end of the work to hang the murals, the project took on multiple layers of engagement with the neighborhood.
“While we were doing it, we got rid of some invasive species like this boxelder maple, like a bunch of bittersweet," said Taliaferro. "I think there was some Virginia creeper, and other ecological responses to the way that people inhabit places. So, it's like a win, win, win. A little bit history, a little bit of art, a little bit of gardening, a little bit of ecology, and it was a real community affair.”
All of this led up to the involvement of the Conte Kids Club.
“Westside Legends had this mural project, and I worked with the community gardens at Conte Kids Club, and we needed something to do in the summer," said Stephanie Quetti, who does gardening with the club and is Taliaferro’s aunt. “When there was a drought, we couldn't garden as much. So, I asked if we could have a board for a mural, and the kids were really excited. They sketched their ideas out and planned, and it's supposed to reflect what they do while they're at the kids club.”
Their imaginations ran wild.
“Okay, so, we had one child who did the whole giant swirly snake dragon, that then gives space to everyone's idea," said Quetti. "So they could be a part of a huge project, work collaboratively, but also have their little individual things. So, some of the kids- There's groups of friends. Two of the young men standing near each other, they are also levitating. They did not want to be on the ground. Then there's characters that they like, there's different flags of the cultures that are represented at the kids club, because there's a lot of diversity in that community.”
The mural proudly displays a veritable United Nations of Pittsfield.
“We have the states, even though it’s not perfect," said Quetti. "El Salvador. Ecuador, I believe, that one with the eagle on top. This is Ivory Coast. Jamaica, Ghana, Ireland, Puerto Rico, Italy, and Colombia.”
With the mural hung, WAMC next went to the artists themselves at a meeting of the Conte Kids Club at the nearby school to learn more.
“I made a Colombia flag and a Batman symbol," said Omar Reyes. “Colombia is my home, like, where I'm from. And the Batman symbol, the only reason I made that is because it was my favorite DC character when I was really young.”
He’s excited to have his art on display on the streets of Pittsfield.
“I just want other kids to, like, see it and call other people who have the same thing in common, and how maybe when they see it, they’ll feel even better than how they are now,” Reyes told WAMC.
Lillian Grandbois says for her, the mural is an opportunity to promote a place where she’s made friends and had fun.
“I wanted to make something that was really cool in the Conte Kids Club so people could see what Conte Kids Club looks like to see if they wanted to come in Conte Kids Club,” she explained.
Lillian envisions the mural as a way to welcome not just other kids into the club, but people migrating from elsewhere to Pittsfield.
“People can see how I think and be able to know that other people in the state, when they move to this state, they'll be able to feel comfortable with it,” she told WAMC.
Ayden Harrington painted a bear playing math games.
HARRINGTON: The main thing about the school is cubs, so I made a cub.
WAMC: And why math?
HARRINGTON: Because I like math.
WAMC: What do you like about math?
HARRINGTON: All the games you get to do.
Harrington says he learned a lot about his friends while they worked on the mural together.
“A lot of my friends like different stuff!” he told WAMC.
Ashton Harrington painted a robotic bear and a soccer ball.
“Because the robot bear is from Fortnite, and I like it," he explained. "And I like playing soccer too.”
Mary Niamke painted a butterfly.
“Because I love butterflies, and every time I see a butterfly, they land on my hand," she told WAMC. "And every time a butterfly is hurt, I always bring them to the vet.”
You can see the robotic bears, butterflies, flags, and dragons of the Conte Kids Club for yourself by visiting their mural on Columbus Avenue in Pittsfield.
