Blackwell Block Party and Mural 2018

The first annual Blackwell Block Party (BBP) is scheduled for Saturday, April 28, 2018—a one-day festival celebrating and commemorating the unity of bi-national culture and the rich heritage of Mexican Americans in Marfa, Texas. The event, held on the grounds of the Blackwell School, will be family friendly, serving multiple generations and people of all backgrounds through art, music, dance, stories, food, and events. The Blackwell Block Party Mural is the cornerstone element of this festival.

The principal audience for the Blackwell Block Party and Mural is the Mexican American inhabitants of Marfa. It is the identity of this group of people that the mural seeks to explore and express. It is this group of people that the muralist and planners will approach and seek dialogue with. The project crosses lines of gender and age, seeking to engage youth, elders, and everyone in between. Many of those we will include are former students of the Blackwell School. Other Mexican Americans in school prior to 1965, when school were integrated, attended St. Mary’s Catholic School. There is no single narrative, but instead memories and values that cross many lines and labels.

And yet the audience will of course will go beyond this community, as any work of public art surely will transcend boundaries. Anglos, transplants, and visitors to Marfa will also benefit from exposure to the mural—not to mention a joyous day-long party. The mural and block party will reinforce an often forgotten truth that Marfa is and always has been predominantly Mexican American in its population, and that this is a source of pride for the whole community. The population of Marfa is 70% Hispanic/Latino with the vast majority of that group being of Mexican descent.

While Marfa is known nationally, even internationally, for art, the national media attention as an art destination misses the important piece of our culture and history that is the presence and influence of our Mexican-ness. Marfa is very much a rural, border community—and there is much in that to celebrate.

In the end, BBP is fun! We sing along to the songs our grandmother sang. We eat food that we remember from home, or eat something new to us and hear a story from the person who cooked it. We engage in art and storytelling that bond us with our city. Our children wear traditional costumes to honor our heritage. BBP is the result of many organizations and individuals bringing together varied visions of the Marfa dream to create a shared experience of Marfa pride, ownership, and engagement.

The budget for this project is $15,000 with $10,000 earmarked for the work and expenses of Muralist Cimi Alvarado of El Paso, and $5,000 for insurance, logistics, and fees for entertainment. We currently have secured a grant of $2,500 specifically for the mural. We expect to raise $5,000 from the City of Marfa Hotel Occupancy Tax Fund and through local sponsorships and donations. We are asking the Dudley T. Dougherty Foundation for $7,500 to complete funding for this project—a fun and meaningful celebration of unsung culture as well as a tangible work of public art that will keep the lessons of the day reverberating long into the future.