But Weems had a better idea.  As a member of the Board of Directors of the Brunswick-Trinidad Sister City Association (BTSCA), her thought was to create a public outdoor mural celebrating the relationship between Brunswick and its sister city Trinidad, Cuba.   Her vision became a reality on Saturday, when Dance of Two Cultures was unveiled on the side of the arts center at 11 Pleasant Street in Brunswick.

“The purpose of the project is to raise awareness of our Sister City in Cuba,” said Weems.  Brunswick has had an official sister city relationship with Trinidad since 2001 and there have been five delegations from Brunswick to the island nation. 

U.S. travel restrictions have stopped those visits, but the relationship continues.  “They are very much aware of what is happening here today,” said BTSCA President Tina Phillips.  In fact, she had received an e-mail from Nora Quintana, the Director of International Relations for the province in Cuba in which Trinidad is located.  In it, Quintana said of Saturday's celebration “we will be there in our hearts,” adding “we hope to be able to visit soon.” 

[smoothgallery]The mural also became a community public art project in which dozens of organizations and individuals participated.  Among them was Daniel Atkins, of FineBlade Carpentry, who served as master carpenter on the project and who said.  “When I first saw the mural I was awestruck by the quality of its light, the radiance of human spirit.  With the darker side of humanity so prevalent these days, the mural's illumination of the promise of humanity is an extraordinary gift of inspiration to our community.” 

The celebration represented by Dance of Two Cultures was recreated by the crowd of around 200 people who attended the unveiling.  The musical group Primo Cubano entertained and members of the audience cheered their thanks to those who provided financial and in-kind support - the list contains well over 100 names.  Larry Scott, who owns the building at 11 Pleasant St., which houses Georgetown Pottery, received special mention for providing the studio space in which Cart worked for several months, as well as the site for the installation itself. 

The mural serves as a gateway to Brunswick's downtown area from Pleasant Street.  It is eight feet tall and 32 feet wide.  Avowedly apolitical, it is partly an allegory - children with flowers, representing hope, along with the waves of people from Cuba and Maine coming together.  It represents “a bridge of friendship,” according to Phillips, “and the gift of cultural exchange.”  Viewers will also be able to recognize some real Mainers in the work: poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Civil War General Joshua L. Chamberlain, for example, along with more contemporary figures including Weems and Cart and his family and associates.