Spring 2021-Fall 2021
Upper Southside, Providence, RI
Co-facilitated with Noah Shipley and Noah Bassman
Painting in Strides is a youth-led street mural that was painted on Wickham Street, near Classical High School. It depicts scenes of activism against police violence, advocacy for student mental health, and ways of creating greener, healthier, and more just urban spaces. The mural was designed by local high school students and was painted by members of all ages and backgrounds from the community. Over the summer, the high school students attended design workshops. During the workshops, students shared their experiences navigating various social issues, and arrived at the final mural design through discussions and drawing exercises.
The mural was collectively designed to look like a park, which serves as a refuge for youth to feel safe and in community through playing, growing, and sharing resources. The painting depicts free healthcare and housing, a playground, clean water, urban farming, counselors, mental health spaces, and more.
The mural is intended to slow car-traffic for pedastrian safety. The workshops and mural installation were sponsored by the Providence Streets Coalition and community donations. The event was organized with assistance from Providence Student Union, Providence Youth Student Movement, and other local youth organizations.
Upper Southside, Providence, RI
Co-facilitated with Noah Shipley and Noah Bassman
Painting in Strides is a youth-led street mural that was painted on Wickham Street, near Classical High School. It depicts scenes of activism against police violence, advocacy for student mental health, and ways of creating greener, healthier, and more just urban spaces. The mural was designed by local high school students and was painted by members of all ages and backgrounds from the community. Over the summer, the high school students attended design workshops. During the workshops, students shared their experiences navigating various social issues, and arrived at the final mural design through discussions and drawing exercises.
The mural was collectively designed to look like a park, which serves as a refuge for youth to feel safe and in community through playing, growing, and sharing resources. The painting depicts free healthcare and housing, a playground, clean water, urban farming, counselors, mental health spaces, and more.
The mural is intended to slow car-traffic for pedastrian safety. The workshops and mural installation were sponsored by the Providence Streets Coalition and community donations. The event was organized with assistance from Providence Student Union, Providence Youth Student Movement, and other local youth organizations.
Before painting, we chalked out the design with the help of construction documents. The documents broke up the final design into smaller chunks for individuals and teams to tackle.
The documents were only guidelines; we encouraged everyone to take full freedoms with the painting, and sign their names on the last day.
Design Workshops
Months before the installtion, we facilitated weekly design workshops with high school students. Various activities asked them to respond (through coversation and visually) to what they would change in their neighborhood/school and why. Conversations were often centered around mental health support in school, more green spaces, and police violence.
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