By: Katie Klemmensen
As Omaha celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month, murals throughout South Omaha are highlighting the immigrant communities that helped shape the area.
According to their website, The South Omaha Mural Project has created more than 15 murals celebrating cultures represented throughout the community. Richard Harrison, who started the project alongside his daughter, said the murals are more than creating public art.
“Part of the effect we have on the community is bringing people together to have conversations, get to know each other, and so they could maybe help with each other’s businesses or help each other,” Harrison said.
The growth of Omaha’s stockyards and meatpacking industry in the 1800s drew thousands of immigrants from different ethnic backgrounds to the city. The murals recognize several of those communities, including Mexican, Polish, Lithuanian, Croatian, Irish, Italian and Czech communities.
Each mural incorporates details representing aspects of the culture it depicts. The Mexican American mural “Del Futuro Al Pasado,” which translates to “from the future to the past,” uses a collage of images to explore themes ranging from sacrifice and struggle to determination, power and celebration. Its imagery includes people protesting, a graduating student and a band playing music together.
The murals begin with community nights, where neighbors share stories and provide input on what should be represented.
Karen Pesek helped paint one of the murals with her family.
“You have a cup of paint, and you would go and paint in the little squares of whatever it is,” Pesek said.
Reflecting on the experience, Pesek recalled the atmosphere surrounding the project.
“There were a lot of people around, they had food and music, and there was a lot of energy,” Pesek said. “It’s a very community-based project and it’s wonderful.”
According to the project’s website, their mission is to “strengthen communities through cultural exploration and collaborative art making” and “inspire conversations between and about the many cultures that make South Omaha the ‘Magic City.’”
A map on the South Omaha Mural Project’s website allows community members to locate the murals and see them for themselves.
The project is now planning a new mural showcasing quilting styles from different cultures.
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