LYNN — Ernie’s Harvest Time is the most recent location to add to the city’s growing list of murals.
The grocery store on 597 Essex St. received a $10,000 NEFA Spatial Justice Grant in November to execute a mural on its walls.
Ernie’s owners, Diana and Johnny Figueroa, applied for the grant last summer with the assistance of The Food Project, Michael Aghahowa and Cinda Danh. The mural is scheduled for completion next week.
The Figueroas have partnered with The Food Project since 2019 to sell the nonprofit’s fresh produce in their grocery store.
Aghahowa is the artist behind the mural, which features hands of all colors reaching out to each other, holding fruits and vegetables.
The Figueroas purchased the store in 2016 and said incorporating a mural onto their establishment is something that has always interested them.
“We see all of the amazing stuff that’s been going on in downtown Lynn and we think that the murals going around are so beautiful,” Diana said. “It’s creating this different vision for Lynn.”
One of the biggest things the Figueroas and The Food Project have been focusing on through their partnership is food insecurity.
With the dedication to decreasing food insecurity and highlighting the diversity in the city, Diana said the idea for the mural came from wanting to highlight both of those topics.
“We were brainstorming how to make a focal point on the amazing people that we’re surrounded with and the community,” Diana said. “So together with The Food Project, we thought it would be such an amazing thing to bring a symbol of that to Ernie’s.”
Aghahowa sketched ideas for the mural, and Diana said the original plans consisted of valleys depicting the production of food. When Aghahowa came up with the idea of the different hands representing the different backgrounds and skin colors of the community, Diana said everyone loved the idea.
Diana said the representation of the diversity in the city and people giving food to others is exactly what she and her husband were looking for to represent their business.
The mural is hard to miss, as it covers the long walls of the building and brings color and life to the area. Diana said the reaction from the public so far has been great.
She said customers will come in just to comment on how beautiful the mural looks. Diana said Aghahowa is an “amazing” artist and has done a great job. He has captured the community through his art and even incorporated the community in creating the mural, she said, allowing kids to paint some of the mural and watch him as he does it.
Diana said her three children have also been big fans of witnessing the completion of the mural.
When the pandemic hit, Diana was forced to homeschool them so she could continue to work at the store, while her husband balanced another job.
Diana, like many other parents, learned to become a teacher to her kids while continuing to run her own business, and said her girls enjoyed being at the store with her and helping out wherever they could.
Being at the store most days, her children were able to help Aghahowa paint some of the mural.
One of her daughters loves to paint and was watching Aghahowa paint one day when she said “I wish I could paint like that,” with Diana replying that one day, she will be able to.
“It’s so cool for them, and the community, to see the progress of the mural,” Diana said.
To continue incorporating the community, there will be a celebration of the mural’s completion Wednesday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Ernie’s.
At this celebration, people will be able to put paint on their hands to leave their mark on the two walls that have been purposefully left empty to have community members create a mural of handprints.
Diana said the purpose of the mural is to embrace the community and make the people in it proud.
Anyone is welcome to attend the celebration and join in on painting the mural.
Allysha Dunnigan can be reached at [email protected]
