Created during the pandemic of the summer of 2020, Joan Hausrath brought a spirit of positive vitality to a wall of a building on Exchange Street with a mural of bold, colorful flowers. Hausrath, who lives in the neighborhood, is an artist and active in the community organizing open studio events, managing Gallery 175 on Main Street, chairing the Pawtucket Public Art Committee, and participating in several art organizations. The mural was sponsored by XOS Plus, a local non-profit art advocacy organization.
Hausrath is a retired Professsor of Art from Bridgewater State University in Massachusetts and holds an MFA in studio art and an MA in art history. She mantains a studio in Pawtucket where she practices safer and non-toxic printmaking. Her artwork has been exhibited nationally and internationally and is in a number of public and private collections. She has participated in residencies at the Edinburgh Printmaking Studio, Scotland; Studio Caminitzer, Valdottavo, Italy; New Grounds Print Workshop, Albuquerque, NM; and independent work in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.
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The mural depicts life-size silhouettes of actual people representing the diversity of the Pawtucket community. Inspiration for the mural came from a public art sculptural installation that the artist had observed in Port Elizabeth, South Africa where Nelson Mandela was depicted handing out ballots to citizens - all depicted in silhouettes.
The mural was privately funded by XOS Plus, an arts advocacy organization in Pawtucket.
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