“Happiness is not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort.” Franklin D. Roosevelt.

The J Rêve “Choose Love” global grassroots public art project is now in Mozambique.  Located in the Costa de Sol neighborhood youth center inside of a public Skatepark, near Maputo, an area that is undergoing new construction developments including a large road. Costa de Sol is facing rapid urbanization, and its inhabitants are the original villagers, mainly sailors.   The youth center where the “Choose Love” mural is serves children and young people to improve their education, providing access to art activities, computer lessons, new media tools and of course sports, leisure and fun with a skateboarding platform.

Artist Haile Milton Pimenta, known as graffiti artist Lodi Dodi, of Maputo, completed the mural just upon his return to Mozambique from a long-term artist residency in Portugal, and South Africa.  He is known in Maputo as one of the leading graffiti artists, and chose to reference global political issues in his mural, hoping to inspire the youth and observers to look beyond their political and religious differences to adopting more inclusive, non-violent and loving solutions to community problems.

To learn more about this project and to get involved, please email us at info@jreveinternational.com.

The J Rêve “Choose Love” murals can also be found in Haiti, Senegal, and Oakland.  The murals are the first phase of the public art project, with subsequent interactive components.  The project aims to empower young generations of artists to globally co-create, inspire, and visualize positivity, while creating a cross-cultural interactive cyber and local dialogue about possibilities, emotional intelligence and love for the community and environment.

All photos listed on this page © J Rêve International LLC