By Hilary Dyer

Local artists representing 12 countries of the Americas are showcasing their art on lower Broadway by participating in the Colors of the Americas, East Somerville Art Walk.

As you walk along lower Broadway in the next month, you will catch glimpses of scenes from far away countries. From now until May 18, you will see artistic masterpieces hanging in some very unusual places, from an abstract oil painting at Taco Loco to portrait photography in the windows of Sovereign Bank. 

The art depicts life beyond East Somerville, yet very much reflects the culture by which the neighborhood is comprised.

In between Instant Shoe Repair at 22 Broadway and Pasteleria Bakery at 192 Broadway, the art is brightening up storefronts along a mile stretch of local businesses and is part of an effort to collaborate between local artists and business owners to celebrate the different cultural elements of the neighborhood.

‚ÄúFor the next month, the artists, the businesses hosting and the people walking by, we’ll all be interacting,‚Äù said Christopher Poteet, who spearheaded the Art Walk and is also a volunteer with East Somerville Main Streets.

‚ÄúWhen the weather is nice, I sit on my front porch and watch people go by. I realized that a lot of the art in Somerville didn’t reflect the people I saw. The culture is so diverse in East Somerville, I really wanted to see something happen artistically that reflected the neighborhood,‚Äù he said.

East Somerville Main Streets is the sponsor of the Art Walk. The local organization is part of the nationwide Main Streets, a non-profit working to bolster local economies by building self-sustainable communities.

“It [the art] draws attention to the businesses and celebrates the different cultural elements of this neighborhood,” said Carrie Dancy, the director of East Somerville Main Streets.

A reception for the artists and the community was held at Casey’s on Broadway Saturday afternoon, to celebrate the opening day of the mile long gallery.

The diverse community mingled together, giving the artists the opportunity to meet other members of the neighborhood and describe the inspiration behind the works they are sharing with them.

Antonio Oliveira is an artist from Brazil who works with mixed media, especially combining wood burning and oil painting. He calls on nature for his inspiration, and loves to create pieces representing the beauty of his home country.

“Art is a tool that brings people together,” he said. “It is so interesting to see art, and it is so good to bring it right into the community like this. Already today I have met so many new people, and some of them were from my hometown in Brazil.”

Oliveira’s fellow countryman, artist Margarette Mattos, has had her work on display in galleries both in the Boston area and her homeland of Brazil for the past 12 years.

For Valentine Iviquel, a Haitian-American man, this is his first time displaying his art to the public.
‚ÄúI’m very excited. I love art, it is a good thing for Somerville,‚Äù he said.

His painting is of a beautiful Haitian woman, but he said it represents no one in particular.

“I paint it because I love women, because I love my mother, I love Eve, the first woman, I love women. I love women because they are so much more beautiful than men,” he said.

Elisa Hamilton is an artist from the younger generation. Recently graduated from the University of Massachusetts with a degree in art, she is now living in Somerville.

‚ÄúMy work is about the everyday and the beauty of everyday. I’m interested in people’s spaces and their histories. I’m a bi-racial American, in my younger years I had less confidence because of it, but as an adult I am more comfortable with it and I enjoy expressing who I am through art,‚Äù she said.

The Colors of the Americas Art Walk will continue through May 18. Each piece of art displayed in storefront windows is accompanied by profiles of the artists.