Client: Massachusetts Design Art & Technology Institute (DATMA)

Overview

Community Tides is a mural portraying the New Bedford’s community, the fishing industry, its diverse economy, and depiction of life at the intersection of land and water. In partnership with Northern Pelagic Group (NORPEL), the semi-permanent mural measures 223 feet in length by 17 feet in height, serves both as the first piece of contemporary art on Fish Island and DATMA’s first semi-permanent artwork.

Community Tides can be viewed anytime by car or sidewalk at 4 Fish Island, New Bedford, MA on the NORPEL exterior wall adjacent to a prominent New Bedford roadway along the New Bedford-Fairhaven Bridge, prominently viewable from the land, sea, and air.

Goals

Silvia López Chavez had collaborated with New Bedford High School students to create her signature colorful patterns pulled from the student’s own photos of their local landscapes and daily lives. Utilizing acrylic paint, spray paint, and stencils to design various sizes of layered panels, New Bedford’s local youth explored STEAM technology and design innovation to help contribute to the final design of Community Tides.