Community members gathered to paint a new mural in Dublin, OH. Credit: Izza Haq | Arts & Life TV Producer
Over the course of five days, Columbus community members joined international award-winning artist Alejandro “Mono” González and local visual artist Adam Hernandez to collaborate on an eight-by-eight-foot mural cube installation at River Crossing Park at Bridge Park in Dublin.
González, recipient of the 2025 National Prize for Visual Arts by the Chilean Ministry of Culture, per prior Lantern reporting, is visiting Columbus as a part of his artist residency with the Dublin Arts Council. His visit coincides with his exhibition at the council, which has been on view from Sept. 30 and runs through Oct. 30.
The community mural is a collaboration with Hernandez, whose artwork is inspired by González and is included in the exhibit, Ava Morgan, director of public practice at the DAC, said.
As an urban artist, community engagement is a significant part of González’s work, González said in Spanish, which was then translated by Google Translate. His work in Chile primarily includes working with his local communities which he said he believes is important.
“Some folks have never painted on a mural before, so it’s fun to help them have that experience for the first time,” Hernandez said. “It’s definitely a little bit out of my comfort zone because normally, I have a specific way I want to do things, so it’s teaching me to be a little more patient.”
González said this is the fourth time he has painted in the United States, previously creating large murals in Miami and Philadelphia. He said this is his second time painting in Columbus.
Deborah Bowen, a participant in painting the mural, visited the exhibition and mural-making workshop at the DAC and decided to help with the project.
She said she is currently working on a research paper on Latinx placemaking, a collaborative process by which people shape their public realm in order to maximize shared value, according to the Project for Public Spaces, which inspired her to become involved with the mural.
Bowen said community art is important to her and community engagement is an aspect of her studies.
“I really love public art, so I wanted to be part of the whole ‘community’ part of this,” Bowen said.
Hernandez said he was introduced to González through the DAC when they asked if he was interested in collaborating with the artist. Their art is similar in many ways, as they both use vivid colors and outline everything in black to accentuate other aspects of the piece, Hernandez said.
“He obviously has international acclaim,” Hernandez said. “It’s kind of really cool for me to be able to work with him and see certain techniques he used [and] how I can incorporate them into my work moving forward.”
González said though they had to communicate online, they were able to share their ideas effectively. He said he was also concerned about time, but they managed to complete a significant portion of the project in just a few hours.
“At first, I was very nervous because it is very difficult to start communication to unite ideas and concepts, but now it’s all set up,” González said. “I didn’t know [Hernandez] personally, but we were able to communicate through Zoom several times. He knew my work and I knew his work through the internet. With globalization, that information was there.”
Hernandez said his contribution to the mural is an homage to his Puerto Rican heritage. He said the blue heron, which is considered to provide a spiritual connection to nature, is on one side of the mural, symbolizing central Ohio’s natural environment and the abundance of the birds along the Scioto River.
The opposite side includes a Taíno — a group of indigenous people of the Caribbean, according to Britannica — sun glyph representing Boyonel, the sun god of indigenous Puerto Ricans, Hernandez said.
González said his contributions include elements of the rainbow, sun and a tree with a nest.
“There is a central theme that has to do with nature, with ecology, with the defense of natural spaces and this space is very beautiful,” González said. “We are using the space in a different way with art.”
More information about the community mural painting can be found on the DAC website.
