holyoke mural
The four-panel mural was designed to resemble a Puerto Rican license plate
(HARP)
HOLYOKE -- After a week of heated debate expressed in person and over social media, Holyoke Alleyway Revitalization Project organizers have postponed their opening party.
The event was to be held on Saturday afternoon, to celebrate the first anniversary of HARP's work in the alleyway between Maple and Chestnut Streets.
"In light of recent events, HARP has decided to postpone the October 4 Opening Celebration as we address the issues raised by the exclusion of David Flores' piece by the property owner," a post on the event's Facebook page states. "We understand that are there many lessons to be learned and we will be moving through that learning process with community members."
The incident that spurred organizers to postpone occurred on Saturday, Sept. 20.
David Flores was scheduled to install an eight-foot by 16-foot mural at 158 Chestnut St. between Suffolk and Appleton Streets on that Saturday. The day of, he faced a last-minute objection by Mimi Wielgosz, the owner of the building where it was to be hung.
"Before the piece could go up, the owner of the building on which it was to be installed decided that it could not be displayed on her property," Flores said in a statement to James Bickford, who runs the website H.U.S.H. "She said that my piece would do more harm than good to Holyoke's Hispanic community, and that in order to display it I would have to change it to make it "more diverse.'"
The four-panel mural was designed to resemble a Puerto Rican license plate. The vanity plate reads, "HOLYOKE" and names Puerto Rico as the place of registration. The bottom of the plate features the phrase, "Isla Del Encanto," meaning "the island of enchantment," which is stamped on license plates registered on the Island. Additionally, the mural features two Puerto Rican flags on the bottom corners.
Flores says his mural celebrates "Puerto Rican diaspora" in Holyoke. "Whereas many Boricuas throughout Holyoke proudly display similar license plates that point to their hometowns on the island, my project intended to claim that Holyoke is part of Puerto Rico. Holyoke is the community with the highest percentage of Puerto Ricans in the U.S. (44.70%), yet Puerto Ricans are deeply marginalized in almost every aspect of the city."
Flores alleges that Wielgosz initially approved of his design in advance of the scheduled installation, but "caved to pressure from nearby business owners and others who seek to prohibit public displays of Puerto Ricanness (sic) in Holyoke."
On the following Monday, HARP Organizer Carol Soules published a post on the group's Facebook page. The post was commented on 125 times, shared by 19 and liked by 55 people. Flores, Wielgosz and Soules were among many who commented in the thread.
After Flores posted a 375-word comment, Wielgosz responded. "This is unbelievable. My heart is broken. Those who know me well know that I work tirelessly for Holyoke. I love and embrace the Hispanic community in Holyoke."
She added that the situation makes her want to "give up" on Holyoke. "I tried so hard and this is what I get for it."
While some alleged the owner of Ivory Billards - located across Chestnut Street from Wielgosz's building - disapproved of the mural and pressured her to prevent the installation, Wielgosz said the decision was hers alone.
She said it is her belief that as the mural does not represent all cultures in the city, "it does not embrace diversity."
Holyoke resident Glenn Sullivan voiced his support for Wielgosz. "She has gone beyond, putting herself out there to try a make things better for all! I suspect she had to cow to pressure from her own family and Ivory Billard folks? Carol Soules is a godsend to Holyoke. Paint a couple of F@#kin' shamrocks on the thing and shut the F@#k up!"
While some agreed with Wielgosz on her view, others strongly disagreed.
"Objecting to the piece because it specifically celebrates Puerto Rican heritage is a problem for many reasons," Susan Van Pelt wrote. "The demand that David add representation of other ethnicities to his work ignores the differences between the experiences of those groups here and now. How many square feet of Holyoke are already painted with shamrocks, both on public ways and private property? How many square feet of Holyoke are under the City's consideration to become a historic district dedicated specifically to Polish heritage? How many Puerto Ricans in Holyoke own the properties where they live or work and have the ability to choose large works for exterior installation?"
In the week following the initial post, hundreds of comments have been shared on the matter.
Soules sought community help to find a new location for the mural in the city and further addressed the issue on the group's page.
"As the curator of the art installation, I was unable to assure that every contingency was accounted for," Soules wrote. "This is a multifaceted project of a sort that is new to me, and that I have undertaken as a volunteer. Despite making major efforts to think of everything, anticipate everything, meet everyone's shifting timelines and needs, I failed in David's case to assure that everything went as hoped and planned. I still do not understand what happened but regardless, I am deeply sorry."