The International Museum of Art invites the public to help create The Window to the World Singing Tree Mural – Living With Those Who Came Before Us from Aug. 8th to Aug. 30th. People of all ages can paint, as well as draw images on cut-out birds, leaves and stars, which will be added to the mural. The painting is the 158 th in a series of collaborative artworks that have been inspired by the vision of an 8-year-old girl in 1999 who asked, “What if the whole world made a painting together?” 27,000 people from 64 countries have contributed to the “Forest” of Singing Tree murals to date. This global peace initiative is part of Unity Through Creativity Foundation’s leadership and innovative team-building program. The co-creative project will accompany an exhibition of 18 Singing Tree murals at the museum. Over 1300 El Pasoans have added to the imagery of the murals that will be on display. Each mural envisions healing to community heartbreak and solutions to individual and collective challenges. Some of the issues addressed include child separation at the U.S./Mexican border, autism, political division, the war in Ukraine, the treatment of women in Afghanistan, children and their families who are experiencing cancer. The goal of Singing Tree murals is guided by an practice described by Penobscot and Wabenaki lawyer, Sherri Mitchell of Maine. She says that “If we hope to create a new reality, we have to shift our emotional energy away from the reality being presented and focus on the reality that we wish to create.” The mission of the Singing Tree murals is to turn pain into purpose, trauma into beauty and breakdowns into connection.

      The murals will be paired with objects from the museum’s “Window to the World” collection – 10,000 items gathered by educator Sue Koenig over 30 years from 110 countries. There will be a parallel exhibit during the month of August with community artists sharing their vision of “Living With Those Who Came Before,” also paired with Koenig’s collection. Visitors to the Museum will have an interactive, creative, visual and 3-dimensional experience. One of the featured murals will be the 8’ high x 16’ wide Casa Autogroup Singing Tree of Love, Trust and Community, made by over 400 employees in eight locations as part of an innovative team-building program.

      The show will open Saturday, Aug. 8th from 1:00-4:00 pm. There will be a gallery talk by founder Laurie Marshall and community art-making session Sunday, Aug. 16th, from 2:00-4:00 pm, and a celebration of the completed Window to the World Singing Tree mural on Sunday, Aug. 30th from 1:00-4:00 pm. The International Museum of Art is located at 1211 Montana Avenue. Its mission is to support and encourage the visual arts in El Paso and the southwest through the presentation of local, regional, and international artist exhibits, lectures, gallery talks, art education and guided tours. Hours are Thursdays, 1:00-5:00; Fridays- Sundays, 12:00-5:00.