Marigold Murals

Marigold Murals is a collaboration between Nila Devaney and Kate Welbes, two artists invested in creating ritual in everyday spaces through community storytelling. In a scarcity-driven society founded upon the erasure of personal histories, Marigold Murals centers the importance of belonging. Understanding that grief and joy are complexly intertwined, they invite people to acknowledge who they are by creating space for individuals to momentarily sit with the contradictions carried within their body and psyche. Nila and Kate's deep commitment to restorative justice practices is rooted in their belief that recollection, reconstructing, and retelling our stories through creative expression is an act of resistance. Whether these processes take place during a community painting day, or in a facilitated workshop-—there is space made and it is sacred. Here, time is seen as cyclical rather than linear, and this process of remembering through imagination is what returns us home. 

Throughout their many experiences mural-making, facilitating workshops, and developing youth education, Marigold Murals has also maintained a focus on the unique connection between food justice and public art. Their recent mural, Abundant Roots, draws inspiration from urban agriculture movements, highlighting the intersection of community, food sovereignty, and artistic expression.