Created By: Downtown Pittsfield, Inc.
The Let It Shine! Public Art Partnership welcomed Silvia Lopez Chavez to Pittsfield to paint an original mural entitled "Sisterhood" on the south-facing side of the Shipton Building at 146-156 North Street.
The imagery in Silvia’s mural "Sisterhood" on the Shipton Building takes inspiration from the spirit of visionary women coming together with joy to imagine and create a bright future for Pittsfield. The focal points are two figures embracing, covered in luscious, colorful textiles juxtaposed with geometric shapes and patterns in the background. The women are anchored in a cloud of bunting fan flags of various colors and patterns to visually connect to the building’s and downtown’s historical tradition of bunting decoration for events in the city throughout the year. The idea of rich textiles and the element of the paper plane gives a nod to the city’s history of paper and textile mills, as well as plane engineering and manufacturing. Overall, the mural hopes to uplift viewers with a message of welcome and inclusion, celebrating the beautiful diversity of Pittsfield’s community today.
About Silvia:
Silvia Lopez Chavez is a Dominican-American artist whose community-centered murals form connections across disciplines and cultural boundaries. She uses joy as an act of resistance and celebration through her vibrant murals, and her work transforms urban spaces by honoring the identity of a place and its people. Silvia is a Neighborhood Salon Luminary at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and was awarded the New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA) Leadership in Public Art award (2021). Commissions include the U.S. Chinese Embassy in Beijing, Google HQ in California, SeaWalls Boston, MIT, Harvard University, Twitter, and Northeastern University. Artist residencies include Vermont Studio Center, Haystack, and MASS MoCA. As her career continues to expand internationally, she remains true to her vision: to make art with others and create beauty that also tells a truth. She is a proud alumna of Altos de Chavon School of Art & Design in the Dominican Republic and Massachusetts College of Art & Design.
This mural was funded by a MassDevelopment Transformative Development Initiative (TDI) Creative Catalyst Grant and was completed in August 2023.
This point of interest is part of the tour: Mural Tour of Pittsfield, MA
Please send change requests to changerequest@pocketsights.com.