Julio Valdez and the children of Takoma Elementary School

I am a full-time visual artist and educator working on painting, printmaking, curatorial projects and murals. I have been living in DC since late 2006 and have been part of the board of artists organizations like DC Art Studios. My most recent curatorial project was the exhibition Resilience & Uncertainty, for the DC Commission on the Arts And Humanities. My most recent solo show was Julio Valdez: Mapping the Layers, at the OAS Art Museum of the Americas. This show traveled to the Museum of Modern Art in Santo Domingo, from November 2024 through February 2025. My vision for this grant is to create two small horizontal welcoming mural at the entrance of the Takoma Elementary School in DC, alongside of Piney Branch road. The walls are about 3' high by 10' long. Also to restore part of the ground murals we did outside the school in 2023 as part of Color the Curb grant from the DC DOT and Commission on the Arts and Humanities. One of the murals was destroyed a the utility company excavation. The images for the mural were produced from a painterly collage workshop I offered the 3rd and 4th grade school students. For this particular project at Takoma Elementary School, I am excited to be able to use my talents as an experienced teacher and artist to help bring uplifting messages of hope, possibility, joy and color to the school's environment. The school is only a 5 minutes drive from my home and for many years, when I drove by it, it always seemed to me such a “serious” building, like a research facility. I have been wondering for a long time; how can I help make this place visually more cheerful and exciting? The school principal and teachers are excited about this possibility of a new collaboration.