Honoring Gloria

Title: Honoring Gloria
Type: StillImage
Creator: Ortiz, Michelle Angela
Date: 2015
Description: Gloria Casarez was born and raised in Philadelphia and was a founding member and community organizer of Empty the Shelters, a national housing rights and economic justice organization. In 2008, Casarez was appointed as the city’s first director of LGBT Affairs. Casarez lost her battle to cancer in 2014.

I created this mural in honor of Gloria’s legacy. The circle surrounding Gloria’s portrait was inspired by Pima Mexican pottery from Chihuahua, Mexico where Gloria’s ancestors are from. The circle then pans out to create an echo effect as a symbol of Glora’s experiences reverberating out into the community where she worked. Around the circle is one of Gloria’s quotes “Engage, find voice, expand your community.”

On 12/23/2020, Midwood Developers whitewashed the Gloria Casarez mural.

-Michelle Angela Ortiz; Description source
Format: image/jpeg
1800 × 1200 pixels
Language: English
Place: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
204 South 12th Street
Alternative Title: The Gloria Casarez Mural
Extent: 655 KB
Identifier: 131821350_3189422944494857_7409818845742800619_n
Relation: Mural Arts Philadelphia
Subject: public art
mural paintings (visual works)
Latina LGBTQ+ people
Mexican American art
LGBTQ+ activists
LGBTQ+ activism
Temporal Coverage: 2015-2020
Source: Michelle Angela