“The Bridge of Love” by William Hernandez, Images Courtesy of the City of Hillsboro

(Hillsboro, Ore.) — The next time you visit the Hillsboro Civic Center (150 East Main Street, Hillsboro), new artwork will greet you on the first floor elevator doors. The three-panel painting on vinyl wrap, titled “The bridge of love,” was created by Portland-based artist William Hernandez, who through his artwork creates a bridge spanning his past traditions and memories to his life today as an artist, family man, and Peruvian living in the Pacific Northwest. According to Hernandez, “This work represents the spiritual and universal connection between the people who make up our community. My hope is that these images will instill the importance of inclusion and social support to the viewing public, as human relationships and love are vital to health and healing.” The artwork is open to the public during regular business hours, Monday through Friday, from 8 am to 5 pm.  Visitors to the Civic Center are required to wear masks at this time.

Trained as a painter at Lima’s Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes, Hernandez worked as an artist and graphic designer for public and international institutions in Lima before settling in Portland in 2009. His surreal subjects and his graphic, illustrative style create layered narratives infused with lingering emotions from whimsy to melancholy.

The City of Hillsboro assembles a team each year comprised of staff from various departments who work together for a month to create innovative solutions to challenges faced by the city. The 2019 team partnered with the Cultural Arts division of Hillsboro Parks & Recreation to bring colorful artwork to the Civic Center as a way to make the space more welcoming to Hillsboro’s diverse community. Community Art Program Supervisor Melissa Moore, who served on the team, said, “As public servants we recognize the need to make our services more accessible to all Hillsboro residents and that includes making our physical spaces comfortable and inviting.” The team is also working to make translation services more available and look at additional ways to remove barriers to City services.

Cultural Arts is a division of the City of Hillsboro’s Parks & Recreation Department. For more information about Cultural Arts, visit Hillsboro-Oregon.gov/CulturalArts.