Bloom (2025)
- Partners for Historical Justice
- Jan 16
- 1 min read
Updated: Jan 21
Title
Bloom (2025)
(created for Anacostia Mural Fest 25)
Artist
Nonnie Dope
Location
Capital Hill Boys Club Intergenerational Gallery, 16th and Marion Barry Ave, SE, Washington DC
On the Capital Hill Boys Club, see
Visual description
Against a green background, flowers bloom around the outline of a person killed, evidently in a drive-by shooting. The “Boom” from the guns has become “Bloom”, and the bullet holes have become flowers.
Background
Young people have experienced ebbs and flows of intense gun violence in the southeast neighborhoods of DC. The pandemic period of 2020-21 saw intense incidents of drive-by shootings. The Capital Hill Boys Club itself, inside an old laundromat. occupies a former open-air drug market and shooting gallery. The founders and community allies are actively engaged in reclaiming the space to become an inclusive site of healing, kindness, and mutual compassion.
Prompts for Closer Looking:
Why has the artist chosen a green background and not the dark color of a street or sidewalk where most shootings occur? Might this express a hope for a ‘field of renewal’ from which new life might spring?
Why are the flowers in different colors? Might this suggest the diversity of the people lost in gun violence and the hope for diverse new life in the community?
Think about the emptiness or “negative space” inside the outline of the body. Is this only about the loss of a person in gun violence? Does the green suggest the possibility of new growth that follows terrible loss?
Bloom (2025) by Nonnie Dope caught my eye for its blunt statement and vibrant colors. The idea of the “boom” from a drive-by shooting transforming into the “bloom” of flowers, inspiring growth. The visceral bullet holes being transformed into flowers displayed next to the chalk outline of a body is a raw and thought-evoking image. The artist notes the increase in drive-by shootings, specifically in the Capitol Hill Boys Club area, a place that honors queer artists of color. I found the mural powerful. It shows that despite the violence the community has endured, they persevered and came together to show compassion.
From a technical artistic perspective, I love the simple, bold, but intentional lines. Its minimalism makes me and…