Liberian Artist Creates Murals to Educate Public About COVID-19

By ADF On Nov 2, 2021

Liberian artist Patrick Gono stands in front of his COVID-19 awareness mural. U.S. EMBASSY IN LIBERIA

ADF STAFF

Patrick Gono has eye-popping talent with a paintbrush, and he is using the skill for an important cause.

In October, Gono, a self-taught Liberian artist, completed four vivid murals in West Point township in Monrovia as a way to educate the public about COVID-19. The murals depict people practicing social distancing while wearing masks and communicating electronically instead of in person. One of the murals features a man wearing an intricately designed, brightly colored bandana.

On October 17, U.S. Ambassador to Liberia Michael McCarthy and his wife, Sandra McCarthy, met with Gono and saw the murals for themselves. Gono received a grant from the U.S. Embassy in Liberia to paint the murals.

U.S. Ambassador to Liberia Michael McCarthy, center, poses with artist Patrick Gono, lower left, and his team. U.S. EMBASSY IN LIBERIA

“We need to be prepared for the next wave or variant of the virus,” McCarthy said. “Remember that cases were very low before the resurgence we experienced in June and July. We want to make sure that does not happen again.”

Gono emphasized the importance of the project.

“On behalf of my team, Liberation Through Art, I thank all of you at the embassy for believing in me and empowering me to carry out this awareness,” Gono said on his Facebook page.

Gono received congratulations on his work from as far away as Dayton, Ohio, a Midwestern U.S. city that is the sister city of Monrovia. In 2019, Gono was named Dayton’s first artist-in-residence from Liberia.

During a monthlong stay in Dayton, Gono toured local and regional attractions, met local artists, and created works in a space donated by a local building company. He also created a vivid mural featuring Native American people in traditional attire against a backdrop featuring a sunset and flying eagles.

Amanda Grieve, the gallery director for Dayton Society of Artists, said Gono’s visit was instrumental in reestablishing a relationship between the two cities.

“It’s starting to foster that relationship again. That person-to-person contact is so vital,” Grieve said in a story on Dayton.com. “It is beginning that bridge building between Dayton and Monrovia.”

U.S. Ambassador to Liberia Michael McCarthy and his wife, Sandra McCarthy, center, meet with artist Patrick Gono and his team. U.S. EMBASSY IN LIBERIA

Gono’s murals are not the first time Liberians have turned to art to spread messages about COVID-19.

Last year, Liberian President George Weah penned and released a roughly six-minute song titled “Let’s Stand Together and Fight Coronavirus.”

The song explains how COVID-19 is spread and urges hand-washing. It also described virus symptoms and explained how the virus can be spread. The United Nations used the song in its #DontGoViral COVID-19 awareness campaign.

“From Europe to America, from America to Africa, take precautions, and be safe,” Weah sang.

As a senator in 2014, Weah recorded a song to spread awareness about the West African Ebola outbreak.

After a slight uptick of COVID-19 infections in late September, far fewer cases were reported in Liberia through much of October. According to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, Liberia had reported 5,800 COVID-19 infections and fewer than 290 deaths as of October 22.