On the first business day of Black History Month, Hartford-based muralist and curator Andre Rochester wasn’t only talking about aesthetics. Rochester’s focus was on visibility, history and the responsibility artists have to show up fully — especially now.
Rochester’s murals can be found across Hartford, East Hartford and at UConn Health in Farmington, where he serves as art curator. For Rochester, murals are not about transforming neighborhoods so much as revealing what’s already there.
“The point of public art, from a standpoint of murals, is to not only beautify the community, but express the beauty that is already there and bring attention to it,” Rochester said.
That same philosophy guides his curatorial work at UConn Health, where he oversees a collection of more than 2,500 works spanning world-renowned artists, hobbyists and employees, past and present.
“My job as the curator at UConn Health is to bring attention to this beautiful collection that we have,” Rochester said. “There’s a little bit of everybody in there.”
Scaling up: from small ideas to large walls
When asked about the technical challenge of mural-making, the practice of turning vast, flat surfaces into lifelike images, Rochester pushed back on the idea of pure instinct.
“I like to think that I have a gift, but that gift had to be revealed in developing a talent,” Rochester said.
Murals, according to Rochester, require learned techniques: scaling, proportion and composition. He also said they require personality.
“You’ve got to make it your own,” Rochester said. “You also have to make it unique and stylized.”
A living black arts legacy in greater Hartford
Rochester traces his inspiration directly to Hartford’s Black cultural history — one he says remains vibrant and interconnected.
“We have a rich history in the arts,” Rochester said, pointing to music, visual arts, theater and dance. “I would say that the African diaspora is alive and well here in Greater Hartford.”
What sets the region apart, Rochester said, is not just diversity but depth.
“Our culture is something that you don’t really get elsewhere,” Rochester said. “We have a diverse community, but we also have a culturally rich community within those pockets.”
Black History Month and the call to be unapologetic
When the conversation turned to Black History Month and current national debates over representation, Rochester didn’t hesitate.
“Now is the time to step into boldness,” he said. “Be yourself. Push that identity of who you are as a Black artist, as a Black creative — whatever art form it is that you make — and be unapologetically Black about it.”
Rochester framed that boldness as a historical truth and present-day necessity.
“We built this place,” Rochester said. “Therefore, it is our birthright to be ourselves and do so without any guilt whatsoever.”
As pressures mount to narrow definitions of culture and belonging, Rochester said the response must be persistence — and visibility.
“We have to keep fighting. We have to keep being ourselves. We have to keep showing up,” Rochester said, “and we have to do so with that same boldness that our civil rights leaders showed up with.”
