Beyond the border.

 

For nearly 3 years now an artist in Tijuana has been donating his time to make the border wall a beautiful piece of art and he has had a lot of help. Steve Price explains the purpose behind this labour intensive project.

« I started this project on December 1st, 2016. »

Artist Enrique Chiu is on a mission to change the border wall, from something that’s meant to divide us, to something that actually brings us together.

« Instead of divisions, of what this border represents, I’m just trying to do more of a union of the community, on both sides of the border. »

It’s called mural de la hermandad, brotherhood mural, hundreds of bright colors to lighten up the hearts of those who see it.

« A message with love, peace. We are supporting the immigrant’s rights. »

His strokes of genius have inspired others to get involved : already more than 4,000 people have volunteered their time to help him paint.

« Artists from Japan, China, New Zealand, Germany, from Guatemala, from Canada and from the US they all really came and painted with us. »

Right now he’s only painting on the third week end of every month but everyone is welcome to help out. You don’t need to be a professional painter, but you do need to have a positive attitude.

« We just enjoy the time, we just try together, all people together, and work with them. »

The mural currently spans more than 2 kilometers in Tijuana, Chiu’s goal is to eventualy make it the longest mural in the world.