Request for Images and Stories of the Nelson Stevens Mural Project
social@springfieldmuseums.org
Submissions accepted now through June 18, 2021

The Springfield Museums in conjunction with Fresh Paint Springfield request reflections, images, footage, and documentation of any kind that reflect the work done throughout the city of Springfield as a part of the Nelson Stevens Mural Project. The project was conducted in the mid-1970s by the artist, AfroCOBRA member, and University of Massachusetts Amherst Professor Nelson Stevens.

AfriCOBRA (African Commune of Bad Relevant Artists), one of the longest running art collectives in the United States, is an African-American artists’ collective formed in Chicago in the 1960s. AfriCOBRA was part of the Black Arts Movement in America which aimed to empower Black artistic expression throughout the African diasporic community. Notable figures of the Black Arts Movement are Amiri Biraka, Sonia Sanchez, and Nikki Giovanni.

Nelson Stevens brought the AfriCOBRA movement to Springfield, MA, during his time as a professor at University of Massachusetts Amherst. Collaborating with students and artists, Stevens help create more than thirty-six outdoor and indoor murals throughout Springfield. Today, only one exterior mural is known to still exist lives on an exterior wall of Mosque 13, the 13th mosque formed in the US by the Nation of Islam. This specific mural was done by local artistic icon and Ubora Award recipient Josephine Edmonds.

During Fresh Paint 2021, the Edmonds mural will be documented, taken down, and repainted in its original design and colors, led by artist Kay Douglas. Edmonds is regarded as one of the first major curators of art in the city of Springfield. Remembered for her work as a volunteer art exhibition coordinator at the AfroAmerican Cultural Center at American International College and her co-founding of the Afro-Art Alliance, the significance of this repainting is integral to the cultural landscape of Springfield and Western Massachusetts.

The Springfield Museums are very excited to support the restoration of the Josephine Edmonds mural with an online exhibit that celebrates the Nelsen Stevens Mural Project. We are currently seeking any images or stories about the public’s interaction with the murals.

Any information can be sent to social@springfieldmuseums.org.