Painting plurilingual voices: a collaborative mural project

As part of ALPHABETICA’s PLURART pilot action, first-year secondary school students at Institut Escola El Viver collaborated with local artist Isa “La Muchacha” to create a mural in their school playground. The mural was the outcome of an interdisciplinary project integrating history, language, and the arts. It was designed to encourage students to explore the relationships between artistic expression, identity and social justice.

The project began with a reflection on the representation of women throughout history and in the arts, encouraging students to critically examine whose stories are remembered, whose voices are made visible, and how artistic expression can challenge dominant narratives. These discussions led to the collective decision to create a mural to pay tribute to Frida Kahlo, whose work has become an international symbol of resilience, identity, and creative freedom. Beyond portraying Frida Kahlo, the mural became a collective canvas for expression and dialogue.

This initiative exemplifies the goals of the PLURART pilot, which seeks to integrate arts-based and plurilingual approaches to foster agency, inclusion, and meaningful participation. The resulting mural now stands as a lasting reminder of the power of art to transform school spaces into places where diverse identities, languages, and perspectives can be seen, heard, and valued.