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Featured Image: Inscríbete A Votar – By painter Calo Rosa and sculptor Michael Murphy.
Allentown, PA – On Saturday, a new art installation – Inscríbete A Votar – will take shape at 835 West Hamilton Street in downtown Allentown. A celebration of Latin American culture and civic duty – Inscríbete A Votar is a collaboration between painter Calo Rosa and sculptor Michael Murphy. A three-dimensional, 10-foot high canvas composed of suspended community buildings forms the base for a message focused on community solidarity. The work offers a call to action, to vote, during a time of growing activism in Allentown, in Pennsylvania, and across the county. The installation serves as the launch of a new voter registration effort by PennFuture’s Democracy for All program and Make the Road PA.
Born in San Salvador, Calo Rosa lives and works in Pennsylvania. He holds a degree in Fine and Visual Arts from the Centro Nacional de Artes (CENAR) and a degree in graphic design from Don Bosco University. His colorful pieces portray the vibrant Latin American culture, and mirror the sounds, roots, and forms of the urban-tropical lifestyle.
“It’s our future, and the future of our community at stake,” said artist Calo Rosa. “This piece shows that when we look at our community from a certain angle, it is our clear responsibility to get out and vote.”
Michael Murphy is a sculptor living and working in Brooklyn, NY. He received his BFA and sculpture training from Kent State University in Ohio. He then received his MFA from the Art and Technology Department at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago while focusing on sound, installation, and metal casting.
“I view artworks as vehicles for the transport of information and ideas,” said Murphy. “And at this moment in time, there is no idea more vital or important than getting everyone to take an active role in our country’s government.”
In addition to this art installation, the partner organizations are launching a month-long campaign of radio and digital ads in Lehigh County, Luzerne County and Lancaster County to encourage Latinx communities to register to vote and to take part in American democracy in this unique and crucial election year. The ads ask people visit pavotar.org to register to vote.
“This is our moment to select the leaders who make decisions about the air we breathe and the water we drink, about funding neighborhood schools, community hospitals, and health care centers,” said Maegan Llerena of Make the Road PA. “Now is the time for our community to get registered.”
Due to limitations imposed by Covid-19, the installation will only be available to see through the weekend, though images of the piece will be used across Pennsylvania and throughout the country over the coming months. To learn more, visit pennfuture.org.
“The road to a healthy democracy and a strong Pennsylvania requires all of us to walk together, and the first step on that journey is to register to vote,” said Emily Gale, PennFuture’s Director of Civic Engagement. “We are proud to bring together the creativity of these artists, the deep community ties of our partners at Make the Road PA, and PennFuture’s own commitment to ensuring that every Pennsylvanian has their voice heard at the ballot box.”
Information provided to TVL by:
Make The Road PA
https://www.maketheroadpa.org/
Jared Stonesifer, PennFuture – Democracy for All,
Melissa McCleery, Make the Road PA
