About the Artist

SidMarie is an AfroLatina artist from Massachusetts. Born and raised in Boston, she began to develop an interest in painting after taking some elective art courses at Umass Boston, while attaining her bachelors degree in Africana studies, the study of the African Diaspora, back in 2010. Since then, she has enjoyed using paint to honor and celebrate notable figures of the diaspora of contemporary African American and AfroLatino culture. She’s installed a number of murals at youth centers across the city, often collaborating with local community members to complete the installations.

Her approach to the memorial stones at Shirley Place centered on birds, a universal symbol of freedom and transcendence. She considered the use of birds that would’ve been present during the time of the formerly enslaved people on the property set to the backdrop of vibrant, blended color.