Rise Together Mural Project Creates Community Through Art
By Barbara Allison
On a recent fall evening, several young ladies from area middle and high schools gathered in the lobby of Moreau Center for the Arts at Saint Mary’s College to collaborate with South Bend artist Federico Rodriguez III on a large-scale mural project titled Rise Together. The project’s mission was to create uplifting imagery of girls supporting each other, symbolizing education, leadership, and strength. Sponsored by Saint Mary’s College, Rise Together also celebrates National Hispanic Heritage Month.
A devout Catholic, proud west-sider, and rising star in the arts community, Rodriguez is a graduate of Saint Adalbert’s School and Saint Joseph High School. He earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Holy Cross College in 2014. One of his earliest mural projects is a mural at La Casa de Amistad, which Rodriguez designed and painted for his internship at Holy Cross. He and his wife Liz have a son, Federico IV, age 15, and a daughter, Layla Vela, age 11.
Rodriguez works as the English Learner Support Services Coordinator for South Bend Community School Corporation. His murals also grace Navarre Middle School, Rosales Supermarket, and Foundry Field in South Eastside Park. Currently, he has an exhibition at the Civil Rights Heritage Center in South Bend, which runs through December.
“After college, I continuously looked for opportunities to help my community grow and to educate students,” Rodriguez said. “A lot of the murals that I've worked on throughout my career have been focused on working with the youth, and it just continues to blossom and grow.”
Encouraged by his family, Rodriguez has immersed himself in art since childhood, and he seeks to do the same for the next generation of artists. “The youth definitely continue to inspire me. They are a constant source of creativity and energy, and I feel it's so important to continue to stoke that fire,” Rodriguez said. “If it brings them joy, that will often give somebody else joy, and who can argue with spreading joy and kindness.”
Associate Professor of Painting and Print Media Ian Weaver, who’s also the director of Moreau Gallery, values community partnerships like this one with Rodriguez. “It's been critical, both because he is connected in a way I am not to the local K-12 community—and was able to schedule and recruit the young artists—but also because of his connection to the greater South Bend community, as a native son with deep family ties,” Weaver said. “It is important to have the Moreau Gallery connect to the greater community with our programming, and to have our students realize there are learning opportunities beyond our walls.”
The youth definitely continue to inspire me. They are a constant source of creativity and energy, and I feel it's so important to continue to stoke that fire. If it brings them joy, that will often give somebody else joy, and who can argue with spreading joy and kindness.
- Federico Rodriguez III
The area students participating in Rise Together learned new artistic skills while also forming friendships and creating an artistic community of their own. The project began with brainstorming to come up with ideas that uplift women and their strength. “It’s really fun coming together in one group,” said Dayanna Averalo Rivera, age 9, a student at Success Academy, a charter elementary school in South Bend. “We had different ideas, but we mixed it up and came up with one together.”
The seven-week project opened with a reception and followed a gallery talk by Rodriguez titled Rooted in Community in mid-October. Afterward, students broke down the project into the steps necessary to ensure success and to get to know one another. Each week, student painters gathered in the gallery space on evenings and weekends to complete the mural.
To begin, Rodriguez had the students sketch the entire mural onto a sheet of paper and make adjustments before transferring the image onto the canvas, which is 6x20 feet in size. Once the painting was underway, the students enjoyed discovering new materials and techniques. For example, this was their first time using mural paint. “Mural paint is thick, so it doesn’t run down the canvas,” explained Camila Sanchez, age 13, a student at Jackson Middle School. “In using that type of paint, it comes out cleaner, and it looks more finished.”
As the evening progressed, students painted in the colors of bold images of a jaguar, a girl holding up the world, a tree with a heart at its pulsing center, and a friendly cat, all surrounded by fluffy clouds and roses. The rose, a Marian symbol, is a perennial theme in Rodriguez’s work. “Roses symbolize flourishing and the abundance bestowed upon Juan Diego by the Virgin of Guadalupe," he said.
For all of the students, this was their first foray into working on a large-scale, communal art project. “I really liked coming up with ideas together and putting them all into one piece,” said John Adams High School student Daniela Sanchez, age 15. “It’s a way to express myself. Painting makes me feel calm.”
Danna Arevalo Rivera, age 14, is a student at the Career Academy, a charter high school in South Bend. She found working on a large-scale piece like a mural was easier precisely because of its size. “It’s easier to get into the details and to blend the colors,” she said. “It’s not like painting on an easel. I’m looking up and I’m using my arms and my back more.”
For Adams High School student Berenice Jaramillo, age 15, Rise Together has helped her build her artistic skills while making new friends. “I get to paint with them, so I’m getting to know them a bit better,” she said. Daniela Sanchez agrees. “I like coming together with a new group of people and just discussing ideas. Painting is relaxing. It's a nice part of the day, and it’s been pretty cool,” she said.
On November 13, the students, their families, and campus and community members gathered in Moreau Gallery to unveil the mural and celebrate the students’ accomplishments. The mural will be displayed in the gallery and then will become part of Rodriguez’s collection.
Creating opportunities and community align with the goals of both the mural project and the mission of the College, according to Weaver. “It's important for the young students to see what's possible and available to them at a major institution devoted to the teaching and development of young women,” he said. “In the Art Department, we routinely bring in high school students through our High School Pop-up event, where students take courses with our faculty then display their work at the end of a long weekend of events. We've seen some of those same students return to our College as art majors, which is very satisfying. I hope to see some of these young students return to Saint Mary's as well!”
November 14, 2025
