Josie Bunnell '19 Collaborates on Burlington Mural
Josie Bunnell '19 has collaborated with fellow artist Raphaella Brice on a mural commissioned by the Burlington City Arts and the city's Office of Racial Equity, Inclusion and Belonging as part of the Juneteenth celebration.
![Image of Mural by Josie Bunnell '19](https://www.bennington.edu/sites/default/files/styles/300_wide_300/public/sources/stories/josie-bunnell-mural-.jpeg?itok=XCAAH3Bs)
Installed earlier this summer on the east wall of Fletcher Free Library in Burlington, "Black Freedom, Black Madonna & the Black Child of Hope" features a dramatic mother-and-child motif in vibrant colors against a swirling black and gray background.
For the mural design, Brice called on both her Haitian heritage (her parents were immigrants) and her Catholic upbringing. Her Madonna is a representation of Erzulie Dantor, a fierce and protective Vodou spirit who is associated with the country's hard-won independence from France in 1804.
Brice and Bunnell were both recent artists-in-residence at Generator, Burlington's makerspace, which led to their collaboration of skills; Brice created her design as a digital illustration, but she had never worked with vinyl and didn't know how to use a vinyl cutter. Bunnell, who studied printmaking at Bennington College, has worked with the material often and teaches a class on vinyl cutting.
"Black Freedom, Black Madonna & the Black Child of Hope" will remain in place for at least a year.