In the summer of 2022, Erie Arts & Culture commissioned artist and art educator Christina Wolfe to create a mural through Purposeful Placemaking. This initiative calls for strategic investments to be made in public art along the routes that students use when walking between home and school. Christina was assigned a wall located at the intersection of East Lake Road and Marne Road, which falls on a walking route to Edison Elementary School.
Christina’s mural depicts three young children, two of whom are persons of color (POC). The central figure is a small girl with brown skin. She is standing in a classic superhero pose with her hands on her hips while wearing a cape, domino mask, and floral patterned wrist cuffs.
After its completion, a local news segment featured the mural, showing images of the completed work and interviewing the artist. The following day, Erie Arts & Culture received a moving email from a mother in the community. That mother, Cathryn Esterling, gave us permission to share her words, which are included below.
Yesterday, my family was watching WJET and the mural made by Christina Wolfe was showcased. My two year old daughter, August, who is part super hero and part princess, looks at the screen and yells “Mama that’s me”… “It’s me Mama”! I glanced at the screen and saw a beautiful Brown girl on a very large mural and replied “yes, baby that is you”! Living in a community, and neighborhood where we don’t see much representation can be hard raising four brown children where they don’t see themselves represented in the art they consume, the entertainment they watch, or even in the teachers who teach them! My daughter saw herself yesterday, depicted in the most beautiful way… happy and free!
A 1976 study by Gerbner & Gross on Cultivation Theory concluded that exposure to media helps shape thoughts, perceptions, and behaviors. Viewers often adopt the assumptions and beliefs of media content as reality. Children use what they see in media to create beliefs about themselves and others, making young minds particularly vulnerable. Media can influence the perceptions of viewers in positive ways, but becomes problematic when considering the underrepresentation or negative portrayal of historically marginalized genders and races.
In 2017, a study by Tukachinsky, Mastro, & Yarchi found that a lack of representation in media can lead to negative psychological outcomes for those with identities that are underrepresented or negatively portrayed. This finding supports the conclusions of a 2012 study by Martins & Harrison, which examined the effects of television exposure on the self-esteem of elementary-aged children. Their research showed that TV exposure led to lower self-esteem for Black girls and boys and White girls, but was actually related to higher self-esteem for White boys. One explanation for these findings is that non-White and non-male youth historically have seen little representation, or negative portrayals, of their gender or racial identities in the media they consume.
While these studies focused on media (which includes broadcasting, publishing, and the internet) it isn’t a leap to conclude that the same theories can apply to public art. Public art is an important social tool. It reinforces a sense of belonging of marginalized people and it helps catalyze understanding between disparate groups.
If community members, children in particular, are not seeing their identities reflected in the works that enhance our public spaces then they may feel invisible or unimportant. The solution is to be intentional in how we commission and curate public art – and do it in a way that is inclusive and equitable. If we succeed, members of our community will see themselves represented in meaningful ways.
Representation in public art brings authenticity to our community. Erie is home to a range of lived experiences and a depth of racial and cultural identities. It is important that the community at large see themselves reflected in the art created, as well as by the artists responsible for creating it.
