26 | Arts Cultural Magazine | SPRING 2024 Passion by Tiny Collective Creativity is something that is inherently human. Other animals may dance to mate, or use tools to find food, but humans are the only animals on the planet that will use the arts as a conduit through which our stories may be told. Tiny Collective (Sage Cotignola, Jeffery Espinoza, Audreiana Lesty, and Christophe Lima) has been incredibly privileged to be a part of the stories being told throughout the Long Island communities that we serve with Huntington Arts Council. Andrew T. Morrow Elementary School Mural Sage Cotignola As muralists working in community spaces, our job is to keep our eyes, ears and minds open to what the community members are most passionate about. We are fortunate enough to be able to learn what makes each community special through the specific ideas, identities and experiences they share with us. Our role is to then translate those thoughts and feelings into something visual and immediate. Passion fuels the process from start to finish. That passion is deeply felt when community members engage with the murals during the painting process and after installation. The enthusiasm and dialogues generated by community members, in turn, inspires the passion in us to continue practicing our craft as artists. The skills that we’ve honed over the years of our lives are skills born out of passion. To be an artist takes an incredible amount of passion, dedication, and grit. The doodles that helped us deal with this crazy world are now usable drawing, painting, and design skills that we can use to help others realize their visual stories. The arts have given us hope, purpose, and life, and it’s only ethical to share that with others. The murals that we create in collaboration with the community members will be in place long after we pack up at the end of the painting process. They will stand as a positive reflection, and a small token of pleasure and hope for the community in which they are installed. Jeffery Espinoza Christophe Lima
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