PROVIDENCE — Sav Hazard-Chaney was on her hands and knees, dipping her roller into the canary yellow-colored paint before rolling it along on the black pavement. The camouflage shapes around her were of similar shades, drying under the beating sun.
“I think a lot of us try to avoid the news sometimes because of just how depressing the world’s issues can be,” said Hazard-Chaney, while young children ran around the edge of the ground mural with their hands covered in shades of blue and yellow, asking organizers for another scoop of paint in their buckets. Their parents were following close behind. “This was our opportunity to show support — and to show up for our new neighbors.”
Hazard-Chaney, a local painter originally from Central Massachusetts, was the lead artist for a new ground mural outside the Hot Club in Providence, which expressed support for Ukrainians seeking refuge in the US, and particularly in Rhode Island.
While Hazard-Chaney and nearly 45 volunteers grabbed full paint trays and started rolling the colors onto the asphalt, a new Ukrainian family that just moved to the US stopped by to see the progress. A teacher from The Met High School in Providence brought a handful of her students to roll up their sleeves and pitch in, while neighbors walking by stopped to watch.
“This is to show that Rhode Island welcomes all, especially those seeking refuge,” said Hazard-Chaney, who was commissioned by The Avenue Concept, a privately funded public art program founded more than a decade ago by Yarrow Thorne.
Many of the public murals throughout Providence were brought to life by the Avenue Concept; from painted utility boxes, a mural that honors LGBTQ+ icons, and a new large-scale mural that celebrates Afrofuturism.
Thorne was contacted by the owners of the Hot Club, a waterfront bar, who were looking for a creative way to show support for Ukraine since the war started, said part-owner Sarah Bates. They thought about painting a flag on the blacktop, but the artists pointed out how it might be disrespectful since it’s where the restaurant will place tables for additional outdoor seating. Hazard-Chaney presented a more fluid concept while still honoring those fleeing Russia’s armed forces.
The primary colors are blue and yellow — replicating the Ukrainian flag — in a large rectangle composite of dark and lighter tones mirroring a camouflaged-style pattern. Painted circles floated outside the main work, which she said created a narrative of “distance and journey.”
The Avenue Concept partnered with Dorcas International Institute of Rhode Island, a nonprofit that provides programs and services to immigrants and refugees, to raise funds and awareness.
In late March, President Biden announced that 100,000 Ukrainians would be welcomed to the US. In late April, he announced “Uniting for Ukraine,” a new federal program that will streamline the process to provide Ukrainian citizens who have fled Russia’s unprovoked war of aggression opportunities to come to the US.
Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee sent a letter to President Joe Biden four days after the Russian invasion, affirming his willingness to accept Ukrainian refugees in the Ocean State. Julieann Cofone, a spokeswoman for Dorcas International, said while the organization does not yet have any concrete details about when more Ukrainians will arrive in Rhode Island, she estimated it could take about “three to six months.”
“The best part about a community is its differences. Community is complicated. It intertwines, weaves, and shapes how we show up for the world,” said Hazard-Chaney, who is also the director of staff development at Weber Renew, which is the state’s center for harm reduction and recovery services. “Community has strengths and power the different tones account for the fact that people can be part of different simultaneously.”
“It playfully invokes this idea of intersectionality: How we, as individuals, can hold different identifies and still be part of a larger community,” she added.
Hazard-Chaney said she began painting as an outlet to express and navigate her own identifies as a Black queer artist. Her twin sister Rachel joined her last weekend in painting the blacktop, as did Hazard-Chaney’s partner Cessa Piedra and her children.
“She always wanted a bigger purpose for herself and her art,” said Piedra. “She wanted this [specific mural] to have an impact for those [Ukrainian families] moving here to feel welcomed, but also to spread awareness to others.”
Alexa Gagosz can be reached at alexa.gagosz@globe.com. Follow her @alexagagosz and on Instagram @AlexaGagosz.