A local Girl Scout’s public art installation along the Interurban Trail is encouraging the community to have fun while social distancing during the pandemic.
Located inside the Interurban Tunnel, Eva Villavizencio’s mural titled “Social Dis(dance)” depicts dancing silhouettes wearing colorful masks and music symbols along both sides of the tunnel. Villavizencio, a member of Troop 42215, painted the mural to receive her Girl Scout Gold Star Award. According to Villavizencio, the project needed to serve a need in the community and address a societal issue.
“The issue that I’m addressing with this is the feelings of isolation that a lot of our community is facing during these times because we’ve all had to social distance,” she said. “My hope is that with the mural the dancing figures and the music will inspire people to have fun even if they can’t be physically close.”
The mural also helps people visualize social distancing, since each figure is painted 6 feet apart, Villavizencio added.
Gold Star Award projects are typically meant to be sustainable, but the City of Lynnwood has other plans for the Interurban Tunnel so Villavizencio’s mural might be temporary. An artist was slated to install a mural showing figures running and exercising. However, the artist also intended the project to involve community members by having them help paint the mural. Due to COVID-19, the project has been postponed until next year, said Community Programs Coordinator Fred Wong.
Since current plans for that mural involve painting only one tunnel wall, Wong said it’s possible some of Villavizencio’s mural may remain. Lynnwood city staff have been looking to local artists to help beautify the city with projects like the future “I Love Lynnwood” sign. Wong said he hopes more art will help reduce graffiti in the city.
“I think there’s more respect for art than just a blank wall,” he said.
A recent Edmonds-Woodway High School graduate, Villavizencio worked over the weekend to complete the project before heading to college in Boston.
Villavizencio also created an Instagram account for the mural and encouraged community members to tag the account in photos.
–Story and photos by Cody Sexton
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