COMMUNITY PROJECTS

 

Coexist In Kindness

Coexist in Kindness Mixed Media Mosaic has been a collaborative project which was inspired by a vacation to Mexico by Shawn Gold in 2020. While traveling he met a woman named Natasha Moraga, who is a Mosaic Artist in Puerto Vallarta. He got to explore a public park which she was commissioned for it is covered in Mosaic from the highest to lowest points including light poles, paths and benches, he even got the opportunity to help with installing parts of the mosaic with her and other volunteers. He saw the amazing effect it had on the community bringing together everyone for a common goal and the amount of pride the community had for the art that they too created!

 After his return to the U.S. he couldn’t ignore the idea of bringing the same bright colors, beautiful art, and pride back to a one time busy and bustling town like Steelton, Pa where he owns a business named Coexist Gallery. With the mission statement of “Unity Through community” in mind and inspiration from his trip he has commissioned artists including Natasha and other local artists to help lead the project. Although, the community has played the biggest role of breaking, cutting, fitting pieces and completing areas of the mosaic. Giving people of all ages, ethnicities, religions and art prowess the opportunity to work together and build something they will see and enjoy right in their hometown for years to come.

The mosaic wraps around the outside of Coexist Gallery which also includes the Melted Pot Coffee Shop located on Front Street in Steelton, Pa. A main focus point of the Mosaic is a depiction of the Golden Gate Bridge which was built by steel made right here in Steelton, PA and trained to Philadelphia then shipped through the Panama Canal in the 1930s by Bethlehem Steel. The mosaic also features pieces that were made in countries from all over the world and shipped here to Steelton. We then put them throughout the mosaic, giving it a spark from artists that weren’t able to make the trip. Currently we are constructing the mosaic in the lounge area for the coffee shop which is an addition built onto Coexist Gallery. The Mosaic is coming along amazing and is much more intricate that we have previously done with them! It’s an honor being a center point for the community to come and express themselves through art and learn how to build and create with teamwork.

Check out some more photos of the project on the Instagram page we built just for the mosaic! Click Here

 

Community Composting Project

The community composting project has begun. With the purchase of a huge 100-gallon dual chamber composter, we will be making nutrient rich soil and keeping compostable waste out of the landfills. This soil will give the communities compostable goods a second chance at life and may one day fuel the plants within our community garden! Stop by today to learn about the composting process or to bring in some of your compostable goods that you would like to add to the mixture. Below is a list of things that are compostable and things that are not. 

Compost dos and don'ts

Do

Vegetables (remove stickers), fruit (Remove stickers), crushed eggshells, coffee grounds and filters, tea bags (remove staples), bread, beans, lentils, nuts, grass clippings, flowers, leaves, untreated straw, twigs, untreated wood chips and sawdust, shredded newspaper

Don't

Meat, fish, cheese and dairy, egg, cooked foods, bone, produce stickers, pet waste, used tissue and paper towel, plastic, Styrofoam, oil, grease, glossy or coated paper, staples, aggressive weeds grasses and poisonous or diseased plants, harsh chemicals, treated wood chips or sawdust

 

COMMUNITY PARTNERS

Coexist Gallery is proud to have partnered with multiple organizations in the community!

Successful Dreams Inc - Central PA