Street Theory is strengthening Boston communities through art

Rob Gibbs stands on a forklift, working on his latest mural at The Record Co. In the foreground, there’s a sign that says, 'Art Installation in progress'

It’s hard to escape Street Theory’s work across the city.

Founded by Liza and Victor “Marka27” Quiñonez, this creative agency is behind about 45 murals across Greater Boston — a combination of projects in collaboration with the city and pieces commissioned by clients.

“We’re really thinking about how we can change the urban landscape through art, and not just through any kind of art, but culturally inspired art,” Liza Quiñonez said. “Art that’s reflective of the communities that the art exists in, and art that is also being done and created by the folks from those communities.”

Some of their biggest projects include Underground at Ink Block in South Boston, the Nubian Square Public Art Initiative and Murals for the Movement at the Museum of Fine Arts — all of which emphasize color, culture and community empowerment.

This mural, located on the side of an apartment complex, shows a large tall tree with colorful roots based on the pattern of cultural flags. — “Youth Lead the Change: Rise Up From Your Roots,” by Mel Mandel at Franklin Field in Dorchester.

In April, Street Theory was named the City of Boston’s official mural consultant, receiving a $3.5 million contract, the largest to come out of the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture. This contract includes 10 to 15 murals, all to be completed within the next two years.

“When we have a new mural go up that Street Theory has worked on, you can see people standing in their neighborhood watching it over time, seeing it come together,” said Kara Elliot-Ortega, chief of the Office of Arts and Culture. “They’re telling stories about the neighborhoods, about the artists — diverse, nuanced representations of what it means to be in Boston, what our neighborhoods look like and what their identity means. It’s just really, really rich, deep work.”

This mural features a young girl, Rob Gibbs' daughter, in a track suit and crouching in front of a boom box, with the skyline as a backdrop. — "Breathe Life Together,” located in Dewey Square in the Rose Kennedy Greenway, is by Robb "problak" Gibbs, an artist who has known Liza and Victor Quiñonez for years. Gibbs also founded the nonprofit, Artists for Humanity.

Gina Latham, wearing a tan jacket, jeans, a green cap and dark sunglasses, stands on a green and blue basketball court at Malcolm X Park. — Gina “Flowrbomb” Latham is one of the artists for the new murals for the basketball courts at Malcolm X Park in Roxbury. She’s been working for Street Theory for two years and serves as the projects coordinator.

Latham loves the increase in murals throughout Boston: “It’s just uplifting, it’s inspiring, it’s fun, it’s exciting. People enjoy being in places where there is art.”

On the floor of a green forklift, reference photos of a girl in a white sweatshirt with a black graffiti design are clipped to cardboard. Next to it is a crate of spray paint. — Reference photo that Gibbs used for his fifth and latest mural in the "Breathe Life" series, located at The Record Co. The subject of this mural is a girl named Power Mission Walker Augustin, the daughter of a childhood friend.

Standing on a green forklift, Rob Gibbs holds his reference photos and sprays paint on the wall, as he finishes his latest mural. — Gibbs works on the fifth edition of his “Breathe Life” mural series, which was commissioned by the Boston Medical Center. He is also one of the artists chosen to lead one of the basketball court murals for Malcolm X Park.

Bobby Boyd, in a black jacket and beanie, and Power Mission Walker Augustin, in a white sweatshirt with black markings, smile and dap up each other. — Bobby Boyd, director of operations at The Record Co., daps up Power Mission Walker Augustin, the subject of the mural. Gibbs said she would stop by nearly every day to check in on the mural while it was being installed.

Gibbs: “Each mural gives a depiction of how you can breathe life into a situation — taking something negative and turning it into something positive.”

Between beige walls, this mural by Stephen Hamilton shows several people of color riding horses on a pink background. — Stephen Hamilton’s “1000 Hooves” sits on the side of Nubian Gallery, located at 2164 Washington St. in Roxbury, and faces Black Market. This was part of Black Market’s Nubian Square Public Art Initiative.

Brett Dietzold, in a black sweatshirt and black cap, hits the tennis ball, as he plays with girlfriend, Sarah Chau, in a gray tank and black leggings. In the background of the court is a colorful mural by GoFive, featuring a woman wrapped in an American flag surrounded by eagles. — Sarah Chau and Brett Dietzold play tennis at Peters Park every weekend, in the backdrop of “Reflect the Times.” This wall that holds the mural serves as the city’s first legal graffiti wall, designated back in 1986 as a space for graffiti and mural artists in the community to create powerful, provocative artwork.

Duggan Hill and Tiane Donahue sitting inside Boston City Lights Performing Arts School, surrounded by artwork. — Duggan Hill (left) said “Reflect the Times” was “a victory for the graffiti community.” Hill, founder of Boston City Lights, a performing arts school across from the park, reminisces with Tiane Donahue (right), who serves as its secretary-treasurer.

Hill and Donahue have been advocates for artists in the South End for decades. As the area became more gentrified, the art on the wall became more disputed, and there is now an official proposal process, Donahue said.

Though she is not on the deciding committee, she said she heard the other proposals were much more "suburban,” where the art had less of a strong message with which people could resonate.

“We were really happy to see [Street Theory] be awarded that space because we had fought so hard for that space to be kept as a space for a graffiti mural,” Donahue said.

Robin Chandler stands in front of a mural called Souledad, on the side of Washington Manor Apartments in the South End. — Robin Chandler stands in front of Marka27’s “Souledad” on Washington Manor in the South End. She wrote a letter in support of the mural’s proposal and believes in the impact of diverse representation of Boston’s communities on a large scale.

A tall mural sits on a brick wall of an apartment complex, featuring a woman in a one-legged prayer pose who has two monarch butterflies and a caterpillar surrounding her. — "The Joy of Growing,” by Mattaya Fitts, located at the Peabody Englewood Apartments in Dorchester near Ashmont Station. The mural was part of the City of Boston’s Transformative Public Art Program, which involved Street Theory’s consulting and project management.

Chandler: “The community deserves to see itself and its own reflected in the representations that are on walls.”

A mural features colorful geometric shapes and flowers underneath I-93, at Underground at Ink Block. — “Up and Under” is at Underground at Ink Block, an installation underneath the highway between South Boston and the South End. It was created by Silvia Lopez Chavez, who has done several large projects throughout the city.

A tall blue and pink mural with a woman’s face and a crane sits on the cement beam holding up I-93, at Underground at Ink Block, as cars fly by on the highway. — “Cranes in the Sky,” created by Marka27, is also located at Underground at Ink Block, and it sits on the beam that supports I-93.

Liza Quiñonez: “The structure is so abstract. It’s not just like a plain flat surface.”

Mayor Michelle Wu, surrounded by smiling community members and children, cut a green ribbon with a pair of golden scissors. — Mayor Michelle Wu and Roxbury community members cut the ribbon to celebrate the renovations planned for Malcolm X Park. The work includes three new murals coordinated by Street Theory, due to be completed in the spring.

Kara Elliot-Ortega, in an olive green coat and white sweater, stands at a wooden podium and waves at artists in the crowd. — Kara Elliot-Ortega, chief of the City of Boston’s Office of Arts and Culture, reveals the artists that were selected to paint new murals at Malcolm X Park in Roxbury. This event, held on Oct. 14, celebrated the announcement of the park’s $9.8 million renovation project.

With a crowd of people around her, a woman in a gray jacket and sunglasses holds her arms up in the air and smiles as her photo is being taken in front of Rob Gibbs' new mural at The Record Co. — On Oct. 18, Boston Medical Center hosted an event celebrated the unveiling of Gibbs’ completed mural with live music and a complimentary Cookie Monsta ice cream sandwiches for employees, family, friends and community members.

Listen for the full experience of the event, with loud upbeat music and positive energy from the crowd.

In addition to uplifting the cityscape and connecting communities, Liza Quiñonez also aims to inspire local artists and help them thrive. Wanting to debunk the “starving artist” stereotype, she works to show that art can be a sustainable career and to create more spaces for these artists to practice their craft.

“When you look at what’s available and what the opportunities are now, that was not [like] anything that was available to us when we were just college students trying to do art and be out here in the streets,” she said. “For a lot of these local artists in Boston, they’ve been doing this work since the ’80s and ’90s and just doing it in a very grassroots kind of way, finding their own spots, talking to bodega owners, really just taking any and every opportunity to be able to paint.”

Street Theory is also starting to establish a nonprofit arm called Street Theory Collective, which will include an artist residency program for emerging artists.

Latham, who joined Street Theory as a projects coordinator two years ago, credits the agency for seeing what is possible for her as an artist. Upon working for them, she realized that every mural she loved in Boston was connected to Street Theory.

“I think it just gives us something to aspire to, something to work towards, because now we see that it’s possible there is a lane that is being paved and provided for us,” Latham said.

Now, Quiñonez and the team are preparing for the spring mural season.

“As we see more and more murals come online through our contract,” Elliot-Ortega said, “we’re going to start to feel the cumulative effects of them being around the city and see that work everywhere.”

Street Theory is strengthening Boston communities through art

This creative agency is on a mission to change the city’s landscape and empower those within it.

By Kelly Chan

Here is a closer look at some of Street Theory’s work, the people they work with and the impact they’ve had on the city.