A Moving Artistic Ode to Democracy

In the basement of Anne Arundel Hall, armed with paintbrushes and bopping along to a millennial-inspired playlist heavy on Katy Perry and Taylor Swift, five University of Maryland students put the finishing touches on a mural meant to mobilize social action—literally.

Inspired by UMD’s selection of the U.S. Constitution as this year’s First Year Book, California-based muralist and street artist Corie Mattie ’12, known as the “L.A. Hope Dealer,” worked with students from Honors Humanities to design and create a mobile mural called “Terps Take Action.” The mural of Testudo with a megaphone and spray paint can, painted on a portable wood base, includes a QR code that can be tailored to a wide variety of purposes.

“We talk a lot about the arts and humanities being essential to the public sphere and to healthy democracies,” said Randy Ontiveros, director of Honors Humanities and associate professor of English and comparative literature. “The mural is in many ways an extension of our work around the role of the arts and humanities, and the University of Maryland more broadly, in building a healthier society.”

Last summer, while planning for the launch of the Constitution as the First Year Book, Leeanne Dunsmore, director of strategic initiatives for the Office of Undergraduate Studies, noticed a print hanging in the Leadership and Community Service-Learning office suite in the Adele H. Stamp Student Union. The print was a work of art featuring the words “We, the People: Fearlessly Forward.” Intrigued, Dunsmore asked Courtney Holder, assistant director of leadership and community service-learning, about its origin and learned that Mattie had created it and gifted it after an appearance on a panel at the Stamp.

Dunsmore and Ontiveros reached out to Mattie to ask if she’d be interested in being the artist-in-residence for the Honors Humanities course, “The Humanities in Practice.” Together with Ontiveros and the students, Mattie worked to come up with ideas and designs for the 8’-by-6’7” plywood mural.

“It’s a full-circle moment coming back here,” said Mattie.

[Related: “Alum’s Street Art Goes Viral (and Anti-Viral)”]

Students worked in the wood shop at Terrapin Works to build the base for the mural, which features two vintage Testudos, one from the 1930s and another from the 1950s, holding a spray paint can and a megaphone, under the heading “Terps Take Action.” Its portability means that it can be taken across campus, or to events off campus; the back of the mural is coated in chalkboard paint, making it a usable chalkboard that can be customized for any event.

Ontiveros hopes that the mural will be a fixture at social action-oriented events, like blood drives, EarthFest or TerpsVote programs.

“Everything comes back to the idea of community, building a sense of community and action and activism,” said Mariana Yanes ’29.