Mural in the Carolina Latinx Center

Over the past few weekends, there has been a lot of activity happening at the center on days we are typically closed. When you enter the CLC on Monday morning, you are greeted with more details and fresh coats of paint on one of our main walls of the space. We are excited to share that we now have a beautiful mural painted by the talented local artist Cornelio Campos. Cornelio never worked alone as the mural itself was curated by the members of the CLC community and Mi Pueblo Expresiones committee. The overall project is also being supported by Arts Everywhere, an arts initiative at UNC.

For those who are unfamiliar, Cornelio Campos is a talented self-taught Mexican- American artist based in Durham, NC. Campos’ work uses color and symbolism in order to reflect certain stories and experiences, including Campos’ own story of immigrating to the United States. Through his work, Campos utilizes his imagery as a vehicle to create actionable change and bring attention to immigrant experiences. Campos has done nothing less than deliver a wonderful addition to our Centro.

When first walking in our once plain white wall is now a collage of UNC pride, Indigenous heritage, and bright-colored symbols. Featuring the Old Well, Pre-Colombian symbols, tropical flowers, and other references to our shared and varied expressions of Latinidad, this mural is just what we needed. We hope that with this new addition members of our community will feel seen and celebrated and continue to take pride in what it means to them to be Latinx.

We want to thank Cornelio for sharing his talents and vision with us and bringing our stories to life. Stay tuned for our official unveiling of the mural and an opportunity to see the art in person!

Want to learn more about our artist? Cornelio Campos was featured on PBS on an Emmy Award-Winning interview