The Butterfly Project 

We Rise Together
Nos Levantamos Juntos

As of May 5, 2021, there have been 4,977 deaths in Orange County due to COVID-19. Santa Ana and Anaheim — the two largest cities in Orange County — have had positive coronavirus test rates more than double that of the overall rate in the County. While Orange County’s recent move to the orange tier is hopeful, especially as more and more people are getting vaccinated, this hope can often cause people to let their guard down, at a time when it is critical to stay the course. 

The State of California’s “Your Actions Save Lives” campaign, which provides Californians with information about how to do their part to stop the spread of COVID-19, is partnering with local artists to reach disproportionately impacted communities throughout the state. The program features a variety of artwork with empowering public health messages of protecting one another, resilience and community.

Transformative Actions is one such project by local artist, Elena Lourenco, that quietly acknowledges the suffering and loss endured through the pandemic, while encouraging safe practices so that we may all rise out of this together, stronger and more beautiful than ever!

With her assistants Isabel Gonzalez and Natalia Mendoza, Lourenco is one of more than 20 artists working on 14 art projects intended to connect with communities through empowering messages to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Lourenco’s installations will be on display in downtown Santa Ana, with elements of the work in Lending Libraries throughout Santa Ana.

This community project, sponsored by Downtown Inc.,  reflects the ideas of Transformative Actions, created by local artist Elena Lourenco, and invites community involvement

Covid Quilts is an art project from the imagination of Steven Homestead, where community-decorated face masks come together to create quilts that serve as visual memorials to those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and as symbols of collective hope. 
 This summer, Covid Quilts is connecting in with the launch of the Transformative Actions project by artist Elena Lourenco, who along with assistant artists Isabel Gonzalez and Natalia Mendoza, is leading one of the 14 projects of California’s “Your Actions Save Lives” campaign. Her work with the Transformative Actions project was the inspiration and launching point for community involvement of We Rise Together, where over 150 Santa Ana residents and Orange County community members came together in creative expression as they drew, wrote, dreamed, honored, and imaged on sky blue face masks. Three Covid Quilts have been created from the We Rise Together facemasks and will be on display in storefronts of Downtown Santa Ana so all can share in the inspiring messages. With the metamorphosis of the butterfly as a theme, each project speaks its own message, but unites us together in hope and community.
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You can view them on display in the following DTSA storefronts. 

Alta Baja Market, 201 E 4th St, Santa Ana, CA 92701 
Mi Moda, 108 E 4th St, Santa Ana, CA 92701
Peer Mental Wellness , 305 W. 4th Street, Santa Ana, CA 92701
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