We are Waltham: Welcome Home (CDCW Mural Project)

Initial Brainstorm; understanding the problem and potential solutions
Determining the key stakeholders; helped define our solution.
Video storyboard and production ideas.
Mock mural with dark shadowed figure.

About the team members!

Nikita Mangaru Brandeis 24' is the Brandeis Board Fellow for the Community Day Center of Waltham (CDCW). She is double-majoring in HSSP and Anthropology and minoring in Business. Jalon Kimes Brandeis 23' is majoring in Computer Science and minoring in Business. Anne Liu Brandeis 23' is double-majoring in HSSP and Violin Performance and minoring in Computer Science. Jonas Kazlauskas Olin 23' is majoring in Engineering with Computing.

Inspiration

During the brainstorming session on Friday, what inspired Jonas, Anne, and Nikita the most, was an exercise to get into the minds of the key stakeholders of this project: the residents of Waltham who have a negative perception of the unhoused and the unhoused clients served by the CDCW. This exercise really allowed us to see that there were many similar qualities and community goals between these two "characters", but there is often a disconnect between them within the community due to a lack of understanding. Our idea blossomed from there; we wanted to create a bridge to close the gap between members of the Waltham community and create empathy to inspire change. Thus We are Waltham: Welcome Home was born; a collaborative project between local artists and clients of the CDCW to beautify Waltham and bridge the perceived gaps between members of the Waltham community. Local artists will be matched with clients and they will work together to create murals in Waltham’s public spaces where unhoused people might otherwise reside, sleep, or spend their time if not for the CDCW.

What it does

Our primary goal for our art installation proposal We are Waltham: Welcome Home is to use art as a tool for creating community. Artists benefit from this experience through exposure and compensation. CDCW's clients benefit from this because they are entrusted with a project that they can have various levels of involvement with. We hope to target clients who have an interest in the arts to inspire them to use that as an outlet. The collaboration with Waltham Open Studios could really open their eyes to a new path that they never thought they would have access to. In addition, showing the Waltham residents that the unhoused population values the community as much as them will hopefully increase empathy and encourage people to get involved with the CDCW.

How we built it

This was a very collaborative effort, but we also delegated and everyone played a specific role. As the Board Fellow with the most knowledge about the CDCW, Nikita was able to offer very valuable insight on the CDCW and their needs. The idea really stemmed from a brainstorming session with Anne, Jonas, and Nikita where we really developed the scope of our project. This momentum kept going during our video storyboard session where we produced and honed in on our vision. We went to Waltham on Saturday in order to get vital footage that was used in our video, and it really put into perspective the impact of our work. The script for the video was written by Nikita and Jonas and recorded as a voice over to overlay on our footage. Video editing was done by Jonas with creative input from all of our team members. Jalon joined our team on Saturday and really tied our team together by offering his 3D modeling expertise. He was able to render two 3D environmental models in AutoDeskMaya and SubstancePainting that show the back of CDCW's building without the mural and the back of CDCW's building with a mock mural created by Jonas and Nikita. Jalon animated the building and Jonas stitched it together using Python. The QR code and Figma website mockup was created by Anne. Jonas created the application that CDCW clients can fill out to match with artists. Finally, Nikita wrote the DevPost to describe all of our accomplishments. Thank you to everyone who gave advice and offered their opinion on our project including Esther and Norah, artists who could gives us advice on feasibility, mentors Michael Appell and Chris Hughes, and all of the organizers of the event: especially Professor Miller, Professor Ian, Leo, and Vincent.

Challenges we ran into

Initially during our brainstorming session, it was difficult to visualize how our project would look in Waltham. After our very cold visit, we were able to truly envision how the space would be transformed with these murals. The amount of no loitering signs around businesses that surround CDCW and in the Waltham Commons, were very indicative of the anti-homeless propaganda. The biggest challenge we faced, however, was in the creation of the video. Everyone on our team is very passionate about this project, so it was difficult to boil our idea down to three minutes, while still feeling like we hit all of the points.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

The most inspiring part of this event was truly the power of a group of people from diverse backgrounds. We worked so well together and everyone took part in all parts of the process. The excitement that radiated from everyone once we finished each step was incredible to be a part of. We are also very proud to have incorporated both technical and non-technical elements, really playing off the strengths of each of our team members.

What we learned

We learned that there is no quick fix to a larger systemic issue, but any small step to improve the issue is a step in the right direction. The value of teamwork to reach that goal is important to recognize and putting our heads together really allowed us to create a project that we are all excited about and proud of.

What's next for We are Waltham: Welcome Home (CDCW Mural Project)

The next steps for We are Waltham: Welcome Home is to create a partnership with Waltham Open Studios, which aims to foster connections between professional artists and the public and provide visitors the opportunity to engage with members of the creative community. There will also need to be licensing and talks with Waltham to implement this project and get necessary funding. Once artists and CDCW clients are confirmed and matched, the mural will be created. Next would be to create an event, unveiling the mural to Waltham residents who will be invited by the Mayor. To expand this project past murals, sculpture artists can be recruited to display sculptures in parks around Waltham. We are Waltham also has the opportunity to be expanded with various series that focus on other homelessness issues or other problems faced by the Waltham community. We hope that future partnerships can be made with other Waltham residents to push forward visibility of the homelessness problem in Waltham.