Art Rising from the Fire

In the aftermath of the North Bay fires of 2017, local residents organized and created art to highlight the need to center working class people, migrant workers, and to bridge language divides in post-crisis community care and re-development. Artists played a central role in helping communities heal and honor the earth by bringing people together through the Healing Walk Napa Valley. Napa residents Xulio Soriano (Mixteca) and Chelsea Ritter Soronen (of Chalk Riot) helped lead the ‘Remember and Protect Climate Fire’ mural using charcoal harvested from the fire and clay from local soil and the California Sierras. Drawing from Indigenous philosophy and practice, Napa Valley leaders are using art as a powerful tool to reframe future visions of social and climate justice. #RiseTogether #ClimateJustice