Artist and Professor John Simpson had a vision to rework some of the old photography ads on the wall of what once was a five floor photography supplies building called Bloom. Enter longtime Springfield resident and city advocate Evan Plotkin who made it all possible via financing and fundraising support. The resurrection aims to showcase the history of the City of Firsts. Simpson recruited a strong team of local artists from different backgrounds to revive the iconic advertisements that once graced the walls of this historic building. The project captures some of the history of Springfield through images of local inventors, the famous Springfield Indian Motorcycle, the first peter Pan bus, and images from Dr. Seuss books. The artists worked on a large scaffolding to reanimate the many images that represent Springfield’s truly remarkable history.

You rolled up your sleeves to help us paint a series of colorful panels that were assembled into a large mural in Springfield's North End neighborhood. People of all ages and abilities participated!

The Mural Paint Party was a collaboration between the Live Well Springfield Climate Justice Initiative, and Fresh Paint Springfield. We were privileged to have renowned mural artist Betsy Z. Casañas lead this project to create a climate justice-themed mural in the city’s North End.

Ms. Casañas began the project with an input session discussing how the community would like to depict and convey its history of climate advocacy, diversity, and culture. At the July 15, 2022 session, Springfield participants spoke eloquently and passionately about this heritage – the food, the music, the community spirit. They also spoke about future vision – clean air, healthy food grown locally, healthy homes and schools, community vibrancy, green spaces, music and cultural expression, and celebrating their Puerto Rican heritage.