Paint it back: Mural reborn in Minneapolis after erasure
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Artists Gustavo Lira and Xilam Balam are intimately familiar with a large wall off Central Avenue in northeast Minneapolis.
On an October afternoon, they stand on a ladder and a lift, 10 feet up, painting the wall with ruby red coffee berries, and a farmer’s cupped hands filled with them, representing the business within, a Yemeni coffee shop called Qawah House.
Dwarfing the artists is a Western Tanager the size of an elephant, the songbird’s head and breast gleaming in red, orange and yellow brushstrokes as it rests on the leafy branch of a coffee plant.
“It feels like we've been here already, but I'm glad to be back painting it again, so it feels good,” Balam says, laughing.
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“The reaction of the people in this neighborhood driving through, you know, it's been really positive,” Lira says. “People just react very emotional. ‘Oh, I'm glad to see this mural.’”
They have spent weeks painting the bright colors over a black base coat, a layer of paint that blotted out a mural they completed in 2022.
In fact, the outlines of a loon and a woman holding a pineapple from the old mural are still visible if the light hits the wall just right. The woman wore a traditional Oaxacan dress, an homage to Lira’s hometown.
“Erasing a mural was not a good idea, because we are in the arts district,” says Lira, who led the original project. But, he adds, “It was a misunderstanding.”
In May 2024, the owners of Qahwah House, who were then the new tenants, painted over the mural, which they had assumed was an advertisement of the former business.
It was, in fact, a mural funded in part by a city grant through the Great Streets program. Many of these murals dot the neighborhood located squarely in the Northeast Minneapolis Arts District.
Mohammed Azmi, one of the owners of Qahwah House, remembers the day they painted over the mural.
“Most of the neighbors were not happy. They will keep coming and telling me, ‘You should not be doing that. We are very upset,’” Azmi recalls. “I did not realize the importance of this mural in the neighborhood.”
The building owner, Tryg Truelson, says he wasn’t aware that there was a mural.
“I certainly learned to be more in tune with what is going on with my property, for sure,” Truelson says. He says that it won’t happen again.
“I guarantee,” Truelson says, “this mural will not disappear.”
Creating a new mural
As soon as the Qahwah House team realized what they had done, Azmi says they reached out to Lira.
“We are trying to bridge the gaps between the communities, and we don't want a mural to be a part of something that will ruin my mission of bridging those gaps,” Azmi says.
“We let them know what this mural was representing for the community,” Lira says. “The conversations we have has been leading to the result of this thing, by creating a new piece of art for northeast Minneapolis.”
For the past year, Azmi and Lira have been meeting and discussing what happened, and negotiating how to make it right.
Azmi commissioned Lira to paint a mural inside the coffee shop of the city of Sanaa, the capital of Yemen. Azmi also commissioned Lira to design the new mural inspired by the mission of the coffee house and Lira’s own values.
“I think this mural is going to give a very good message to society,” Azmi says.
He points to the Western Tanager, a songbird often found at coffee plantations, as it migrates up and down through North, Central and South America.
“It’s like the bird,” Azmi says. “It's a message to all cultures that we are all the same.”
Lira says that the songbird represents migrants and immigrants. People and animals alike, he says, seek better weather and opportunities, “a place to survive.”
“It is the right of every human being, or even the natural wild,” Lira says.
Murals and tradition
On the right side of the mural are the outlines of a farmworker in a wide-brimmed hat sifting through coffee beans.
Lira says he draws inspiration from the Mexican tradition of muralism that highlights labor and unions.
“In these times of big technology or artificial intelligence, machines that can create anything, 3D printing or anything, food is still something that comes from the earth that we need to protect and the hard work of men and women in the fields,” Lira says.
“So this mural is to recognize that labor of farmers and farming.”
The mural is slated to be complete in the next few weeks and then Azmi says Qawah House will host a community celebration.
Lira and Azmi say they are working on getting a plaque with a QR code for the mural to teach visitors about the mural’s story and prevent any erasure in the future — something the original mural did not have.
Other murals in the Great Streets Program, which is managed by the Northeast Minneapolis Chamber, have a plaque. In fact, a mural painted by artist Philipo Dyauli at the business next door, MOMO Sushi, has a plaque.
“It’s arguably one of the most eye-catching murals of Central Avenue,” a section of the plaque reads. “To learn more about this installation and the artist, scan the QR code below.”
It is unclear why Lira’s original mural at 1851 Central Ave did not have a similar plaque. The Northeast Minneapolis Chamber did not respond by press time regarding the original mural’s lack of signage.
Azmi is confident they can secure signage for the new mural.
“That QR code will tell the story of what happened, about why this mural is on this wall,” Azmi says. “Because people should know why this exists, what was before this, and what is the reason for this specific mural.”
Azmi says the neighborhood reaction has shifted from when the business first moved in.
“The community is so happy. Everyone comes to me, talks to me. I got gifts from my neighbors,” Azmi says. “I'm really happy that I have this neighborhood. I'm in a very right place.”
