New in Williamsburg: An Instagrammable mural, underwritten by Instagram

The painting explores sisterhood, friendship and connections by two artists who met on the platform

North Brooklyn was a public art hotspot last week, even if most of the murals going up were actually advertisements (murals for Bulleit by Faust, an installation for the travel brand Intrepid). From the expansive spread of fresh painting underway around the area, emerged two vibrant goddesses — their hands meeting tenderly in the swell of a sunset illuminating the corner of N. 10th Street and Wythe in Williamsburg. Here, on September 18, Instagram unveiled this vivacious new mural painted by the young New York-based artists Adina Farinango and Keyra Juliana Espinoza Arroyo.

While, yes, underwritten by a corporation, the duo’s new work wraps the trendy intersection, honoring multicultural solidarity through the lens of their friendship — which first took shape on Instagram. Good things still sometimes happen on social media.

Courtesy of Instagram

Farinango is an indigenous artist of Ecuadorian Kichwa heritage who’s done projects for Apple and the city’s Department of Transportation, among others. She translates resistance, healing and self-expression through commanding yet stylish feminine silhouettes. Afro-Ecuadorian and Kañari artist Espinoza Arroyo is perhaps best known as a photographer whose work focuses on indigenous cultures and climate justice. She’s also an activist who’s founded her own initiatives. Both artists’ creative practices echo each other’s goals, sometimes even aesthetics.

“At some point Keyra had asked me to hang out, and then I had replied, ‘Oh my god, I’ve also been wanting to meet up but I’ve been shy,’” says Farinango in a reel about how they met and ultimately how the mural came together.

Courtesy of Instagram

Although Farinango and Espinoza Arroyo have been friends for some time, this mural marks their first collaboration on this level. A representative from Instagram tells Brooklyn Magazine that earlier this year they put out a call for artists who’ve made creative connections on the platform — and the two answered. For Espinoza Arroyo in particular, it’s also the first time that fans get to witness her painting and drawing work in public.

In the mural, flowers fill the hair flowing from both figures, each framed by mountains above and the fiery dusk skyline of the city they both call home below. Each figure also sports traditional garb from each artist’s native community. Earrings of mullu shells adorn both, presenting “a symbol of abundance and reciprocity in pre-Columbian cultures in Ecuador,” Instagram says.

“Adina is the only artist I have collaborated with, making this mural significant and sentimental to me,” Espinoza Arroyo tells Brooklyn Magazine. “I am happy that it was in collaboration with another indigenous artist who I not only admire and share common values and experiences but who I also share a unique bond with. An unexplainable force and comfort rooted in sisterhood, power and our ancestors.”

While the new artwork offers a perfect Instagrammable moment for passersby (and Instagram declined to share how much they paid for the mural), it’s loaded with symbolism deeper than just the power of friendship in our hyper-connected yet increasingly individualized world.

“The presence of this mural in a gentrified neighborhood carries deep significance, prompting reflection on the displacement of Black and brown communities, similar to the historical displacement of indigenous peoples from their homelands,” Farinango tells Brooklyn Magazine.

“This mural not only beautifies the neighborhood, but also serves as a reminder of the enduring bonds of community, culture and solidarity in the face of transformation,” she adds. “It stands as a powerful testament to the resilience and enduring presence of indigenous communities worldwide, illustrating how even in urban settings we carry our roots with us, by taking up space we have the power to foster a sense of belonging, understanding and unity.”