From Australia to Switzerland to Argentina, you can find Kelsey Montague's #WhatLiftsYou wings fluttering across walls in six countries and three continents in a myriad of colors and sizes.
Now, the internationally-recognized street artist is bringing her social-media-trending wings to the South Gate community with a Latino flair. Montague is launching a Spanish version of her trending hashtag in honor of South Gate’s Hispanic community, tagging her murals with #quetehacesoñar.
“We’re excited that Kelsey Montague added this first-of-a-kind Spanish-language version of her well-known What Lifts You message. Having her mural signed in this way makes this art experience more connected to our community,” said Carmen Hagevoort, the marketing director of El Paseo South Gate Shopping Center.
Montague painted three large-scale interactive murals on Saturday and Sunday at El Paseo South Gate, including a 30-foot tree bursting with a flock of yellow and orange monarch butterflies, and a unique pair of her signature #WhatLiftsYou wings.
"I think it's giving the community a chance to walk by whether it's to step into the piece and share it on social or just to enjoy it and take a moment to themselves and hopefully feel uplifted,” said Montague of the vibrant murals that now grace the walls of El Paseo South Gate.
On Monday, Montague stopped by South Gate’s Visual and Performing Arts High School to speak about students about her personal experiences of struggling as an artist, urging them to "keep going and love what you do" in spite of possible failure.
The artist painted her first wings in New York City hoping to "create something that would inspire people" and to "share positivity." Since then, she’s been traveling the world painting large-scale interactive murals and giving back to different communities.
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"It's such a beautiful community of people," Montague said of her experience in South Gate. "My work is so based on community and giving back to the community and creating something for a community. They wanted to do something with art and they wanted to do something interactive, because that's exactly what my work is."
