🎨 ARTIST CALL | Ready to make murals?
Applications are open for the 2026 Community Mural Training Program — a paid, hands-on training for artists ready to level up in community-engaged public art.
You’ll work alongside experienced muralists to create 5 large-scale murals across Holyoke’s Puerto Rican Cultural District and Springfield. You’ll learn everything from panel prep and community paint days to large-scale painting techniques and permanent installation.
Applications due June 15th. Link in bio to apply.
What a beautiful day. 💛 We were deeply honored to host the Mason Square Wall of Fame Celebration and to work alongside an incredible committee to recognize Black leaders of Springfield past and present, and celebrate their legacy with their families. Follow the link in our bio to read about those included on the Wall.
A heartfelt thank you to our Wall of Fame Celebration Committee: State Representative Bud Williams, Andrew Cade, Barbara Gresham, Vanessa Ford, and Britt Ruhe — your dedication made this possible.
Thank you to our generous sponsors: MassMutual Foundation, Barr Foundation, Community Foundation of Western Mass, City of Springfield, Massachusetts Cultural Council, and Springfield Cultural Council.
And a special thank you to our food contributors: La Florentina, Nosh Cafe, Monsoon Coffee Roasters, Stop and Shop and Big Y.
MassMutual showed up BIG on Wednesday with 80 volunteers & to help us paint our newest mural, a tribute to the one and only Taj Mahal. This is what community looks like! We’re just getting started 🎨
Mural season is HERE and we kicked it off in style 🚌✨ We hopped on a PeterPan double decker bus and took students from Aspire Academy, UMass, and members of the Urban League on a full mural tour through the streets of Springfield. Seeing this city’s art through fresh eyes is exactly why we do this work!
The celebration is almost here! 🎉 Join us this Saturday, May 2nd from 1–3pm at 827 State Street, Springfield, MA to honor 38 outstanding Mason Square community leaders whose lifelong contributions have helped define and strengthen this community.
Rain date: Sunday, May 3rd.
This week, the Common Wealth Murals team brought something special to Mill Pond School in Springfield. We installed a series of murals designed by artist Ponnapa Prakkamakul filled with reminders that matter: you are loved. believe in yourself. Surrounded by the native flora and fauna of New England, the life cycle of the monarch butterfly, and symbols of love, strength, and breath — these walls are now speaking directly to the kids who walk past them every day 🌟
The wall has been waiting. 👀🎨
Back in September, the crew at Common Wealth Murals got to work — renovating the Mason Square Wall of Fame and adding brand new portraits to honor our community’s finest.
Now it’s time to celebrate. Come see it in person! ✨
📅 Saturday, May 2 · 1–3 PM
📍 827 State St | Panache Banquet Hall, Springfield, MA
Free & open to all! 🙌
You're invited! 🎨✨
Join us as we celebrate the Mason Square Wall of Fame — honoring 38 outstanding community leaders whose leadership, service, and dedication have shaped Mason Square for generations. 💛
Come out, bring a friend, and let's honor the people who make this neighborhood what it is.
📅 Saturday, May 2, 2026
⏰ 1–3 PM
📍 827 State Street | Panache Banquet Hall, Springfield, MA
MOVING CULTURE! We have begun!
“How do we hold onto our culture, languages and traditions if we must leave our homelands or travel from one place where our people are from to another? What do we bring with us and continue to honor and hold sacred - what do we leave behind?”
Springfield Stories of language, culture, diaspora and more...This summer 15 youth are painting a mural on the side of Home City’s Chestnut Crossing (corner of Chestnut & Liberty).
Our first Moving Culture gathering was a success. Youth will be Story-Gatherers and Artists, interviewing family and community members and inviting them to be part of Moving Culture!
We will be announcing community painting days in July!!
James Baldwin said “Hope is invented every day.” Tracy embodied that wisdom, creating hope every day and sharing it with all those lucky enough to know her.
She was an incomparable and irreplaceable queen.
Baldwin also said, “The role of the artist is exactly the same as the role of the lover. If I love you, I have to make you conscious of the things you don’t see.” More than anyone we know, Tracy lived this wisdom. She told the truth, especially when it was hard to hear, because she believed deeply in people, in justice, and in the power of art to transform lives and communities. Everything she did was rooted in love, and her passion pushed us to do better, think deeper, and show up more fully.
As the founder and leader of Art for the Soul Gallery, Tracy championed artists underrepresented and excluded from most institutions. She gave them a place to show their truth-telling work, as well as the gift of being truly seen and recognized for their talents and contributions.
At Common Wealth Murals, there are no words to adequately describe her impact on our work and our lives. She believed in what we were about from the very beginning. She opened doors, made introductions, and shared her wisdom with us. She also introduced us to Nelson Stevens, setting in motion a body of work that continues to shape our mission and deepen our roots in Springfield’s history. We would not be what we are today without her.
We miss her so very much already. We will strive to honor her memory and carry forward her work in every mural, every collaboration, and every celebration of artists and community.
Rest in power, Tracy. We love you and miss you and thank you for every minute we had together.
We’re excited to kick off mural season training Pittsfield’s public school art teachers in our community mural practice! Special thanks to Greta Mclain from @goodspacemurals for co-hosting the training & the Lichtenstein Center of the Arts for hosting us in your space!
