One of the awesome things about getting chosen as an artist for this commission was getting to amplify positive things about Mattapan by spending time with and talking to the people who live there. For the research part of my practice, I got a tour of Mattapan from the youth at The Violence Intervention Program (VIP) housed at Mattapan Community Health Center. Plus, every Mattapan resident who volunteered to be a model for the artwork allowed me to interview them. The images below are photographs I took as reference for the artwork.... and I'd also like to think of them as byproducts of good conversation. 

*All photographs are taken by Chanel Thervil, unless otherwise noted.

Meet Garvin: The very first to be interviewed and photographed. 

CT: What do you love about Mattapan?

Garvin: "I love the sense of community that I see and partake in, like the Haitian parade that happens every May. "

CT: What do you want to see more of in Mattapan?

Garvin: " I would like to see a better investment in education, because we are the only neighborhood in Boston without a high school. Those commutes can be long!"

Garvin will be one of seven Mattapan residents featured in the final artwork.