Tura Oliveira, Language of the Day, Language of the Night, 2025, hand-glazed terra cotta tile, John Dewey Annex, Brooklyn

Language of the Day, Language of the Night is a site-specific artwork created by Tura Oliveira for the lobby of the new John Dewey Annex, Brooklyn. Across two hand-painted tile murals, young people are shown working together to create a tapestry, illustrating the many “languages” of creativity, learning and expression suggested by the title. Some gather plants for dyes, spin fibers into thread, weave and embroider. Others play music, dance, paint and share stories. Stars swirl overhead, while fossils, snakes and tunneling ant colonies move underground, connecting the young people’s collaborative work to the larger natural systems around them.

The Day mural portrays scenes of everyday life in Gravesend, with familiar local landmarks in the background such as the elevated subway and the Coney Island Wonder Wheel. In contrast, the  mural imagines a fantastical world where buildings and trains take on whimsical forms, constellations come to life, water creatures swim in the bay and friendly little monsters burrow in the soil.

The artwork weaves together references to art history, education and literature. Made of azulejos, traditional Iberian hand-painted tiles, it incorporates imagery that recalls Renaissance ornamentation and artworks by Diego Rivera and Hieronymus Bosch. The composition reflects the collaboration and experiential learning championed by educational reformer and school namesake John Dewey. It also draws on the writings of Ursula K. Le Guin, particularly her statement “fantasy, like poetry, speaks the language of the night.” Together the murals suggest that students reach their fullest potential when they explore, experiment and discover together.