New Projects: Satellite Housing in Berkeley
For 
the last year, Juana Alicia has been working on “The Wisdom of Elders: Bas Relief Murals for Satellite Senior Housing.” The work consists of ten bas relief columns in ceramic tile mural for Satellite’s new headquarters and low-income senior housing development at the corners of University and Sacramento Streets.
These tiles shown below are her preparatory sketches for the murals, and the larger works in plastilline and fiberglass are the models for the ceramic panels.
The piece’s central concepts are the contributions to and connections between elders and younger people, and the valued place that our elders inhabit in our community. In the work, tentatively entitled The Wisdom of Elders*, portraits of community members from diverse cultures will be shown speaking to us, accompanied by poetic text in several languages. The text will convey their messages to us, which speak of love for the planet and all living things, caretaking of natural resources and a devotional respect for life. The notion, spirit and story the murals will convey is that of a secure, respected home and place in the community for elders, and a welcoming, intergenerational and life-affirming presence in the artwork. It will also celebrate the wisdom of generations through literature.
Berkeley poet and elder, Rafael Jesus Gonzalez, who has recently published a book with the Oakland Museum, has composed a series of haiku-like verses for the murals, which will be engraved into the columns.
During the period of her Fulbright Fellowship, Juana Alicia has worked in collaboration with Tirso F. Gonzalez to create the larger pieces at their studio in Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico.
