MetaPuentes: An art and community partnership

Metapuentes is a collaboration between 33 high school students who attend the weekend enrichment program Metas at Contra Costa College, and young people participating in The Colima Project, an art and development laboratory based in the rural town of Colima, El Salvador, 45 kilometers north of  San Salvador. In a text-messaging based exchange of ideas and mentorship, participants will work together to shape public art projects which reflect their interactions as peer counselors, colleagues, and young adults confronting similar challenges to building their communities and their futures.

Metapuentes’ first project will result in the shipment of 10 – 20 wooden doors to El Salvador. Targeting safety in a part of Colima comprised mostly of informal housing, this project will construct doors to fit the houses and rooms occupied by a population of mainly single woman heads of household. These doors will be inscribed with words from the conversations between Metapuentes participants in Richmond and Colima – discussions about safety, security, and what it takes to make a community safe enough to support the success of its families and young people.