The Community Mural and Its Effect on Cultural Sustainability

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The community mural is a form of public art or people art that contributes sociologically to the community that surrounds it. It invites not only the muralist, participating artists, volunteers, community members, but also those who view it to participate in its creation as well as allowing the participants to ascribe a meaning of the prevailing culture that embraces it. This paper explores the features how a community mural contributes towards cultural sustainability and offers a first-hand understanding of a community mural through ten years of experience as a practicing muralist and educator.

Ho founded the Hong Kong Mural Society in Hong Kong in 1997 and started teaching mural design in the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford since 2002. Through his constant promotion of the community mural, more people have the opportunity to become involved with the planning and production of community murals. Also, this paper investigates the initial role and later impact of community mural in prolonging cultural heritage and diversity.

Stream: Cultural Sustainability

Paper: Community Mural and Its Effect on Cultural Sustainability, The

Kong Ho utilizes his background as an artist trained in both Chinese and Western painting to teach art as an Associate Professor of Art at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, Pennsylvania. Born and raised in Hong Kong, Ho attended Texas Tech University in the U.S. where he earned his M.F.A. degree in 1994. Always looking for new ways to inform the public of the educational benefits of art, Ho devotes his time in mural art and teaching. Besides, Ho also paints works of art in his studio that are of a more personal nature. Ho derives much of his imagery for his work from his cultural heritage, and his interest in mathematics and nature. His multi-layering of symbols creates a dynamic surface that contrasts forms, texture, and color. The resulting image instills a sense of visual tension and meditative quality, integrating the concepts of order and disorder.