AmCham donates mural to Education Ministry

The American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) donated a graffiti mural to the Ministry of Education on Friday depicting scenes of children accepting the vaccine.

In a ceremony at the Ministry of Education in Port of Spain on Friday, Minister of Education Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly said the mural is a reminder that all hope is not lost.

“Today is a day to appreciate and celebrate art and the importance of art in keeping our spirits alive during the pandemic.”

The artist, Zinnia Li, said she created the piece after finding out the Pfizer vaccine would become available in the country for students in an effort to return to the physical classroom.

“I did the mural at the National Academy of the Performing Arts (NAPA) for the kids drive of the vaccination,” she said.

“It was an important thing for me because I saw the kids just waiting, and I wanted to have a piece that would reflect the positive aspects of social distancing and getting vaccinated that people take for granted. (I wanted) to have it in a fun and dynamic way.”

He said the piece is all inclusive, depicting a child in a wheelchair and aspects of rural and urban communities.

Li is working on another mural in Second Caledonia, San Juan/Laventille.

Responding to the vaccination drive for students, Gadsby-Dolly said, “We would always aim for 100 per cent (of students vaccinated). We are not there, and I am hopeful we will get closer.”

She thanked AmCham CEO Nirad Tewarie for its consistent support in the vaccination effort for students.

“If we consider the circumstances of where we were and where we are now, we feel in some ways as though the virus may be winning. The mural gives us the clear sense that we are fighting back, and the chamber has done a lot and for that I thank you.”