Ciara Bourne

Mural Location: 1428 Pearl St Boulder, CO 80302 (south alley)

This mural is activated in Augmented Reality! Download and open the Artivive app and capture the entire mural on your device’s camera to access the digital layer in person or on your computer screen. 

Ciara Bourne’s mural “Caulifro” addresses food insecurity in Black communities throughout the United States. Inspired by Afrofuturism, her digital art and murals often show powerful women and BIPOC in other-worldly futures where they are able to thrive and become their highest selves.

Did you know that Black Americans are three times more likely to choose veganism than white Americans? 

Systemic racism has created food deserts, a lack of access to healthy foods and clean drinking water, and the building of polluting power plants and other cancer-causing industries in Black communities. As a result, Black Americans suffer from illness and health issues at a greater rate. Upon entering the healthcare system, however, injustices and disparities continue, leading Black Americans to have a lower life expectancy than white Americans. Additionally, Black children are more likely to die after surgery than white children, and Black mothers are three times more likely to die in childbirth than white women.

To protest these racist systems, Black Americans often choose veganism. It serves as a radical form of self-care by allowing them to protect themselves from the systems designed to devalue and take Black lives. 

In her mural, Ciara illustrates a healthy, empowered Black woman, replacing her afro with cauliflower and her clothing with lettuce leaves. She raises a radish in a fist above her head, revealing the strength she has found in veganism and her solidarity with Black Americans. Yellow and red rays surround the woman and seemingly emanate from the radish itself. Ciara also activated the mural in augmented reality using Artivive. Within the AR layer, The woman’s eyes blink and her mouth purses while the wind blows through the leaf of the radish.   

About the Artist:

@ciara.bourne

I am a multidisciplinary artist based in Denver, Colorado. The purpose of my art is to spread messages and ideas that are larger than myself. Because art has the unique ability to translate over cultural and language barriers, I believe it’s important to use the privilege of being an artist to amplify the voices of women and BIPOC (Black and Indigenous People of Color). I strive to share our stories and provide representation in the community. Inspired by Afrofuturism, my digital art often shows powerful women and BIPOC in an other-worldly future where they are able thrive and become their highest selves.