WE CONTAIN MULTITUDES

1501 Harry Thomas Way NE, Washington, DC 20002

The defining feature of an atom is the number of positively charged protons it has at its center. Dr. Ayana Arce studies these messy complex particles by colliding them at high speeds and watching their constituent particles, known as quarks, come into focus. Quarks contain a color charge which binds them to other quarks. But when a proton-proton collision is strong enough, a quark pair can split apart, sending one quark hurtling at high speeds away from the crash. Even as the quark speeds off, it is still bound to its partner through the color charge, but as the distance grows, their connection grows strained. But in the last moment, nature provides. New quarks emerge seemingly out of thin air, forming new more stable pairings with the two separated partners. There is an inherent creative and resilient spirit in these tiny entities.

Like quarks, women are creative and resilient. They form close, treasured relationships with other women, and even when life pulls those partnerships apart, they adapt. They draw others into their orbit. When a community of women encounters one lost and alone, they step forward, build bridges, and spark new connections. In We Contain Multitudes, we see the quarks as women. When one woman rockets away from a collision, she encounters another one who is reaching out to meet her and hold her. While there is ambiguity in the air, new possibilities are coming into sharp relief. All around them, colorful shapes and textures represent the messiness and complexity of life and the strong relationships between women that is ultimately fundamental to society and the world.

Artist Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya will invite youth and community members to the site to participate in the making of the mural and hear about the science that inspired it on May 26th.