‘That’s My Painting’ A Collection of Youth Murals In cities and towns big and small, public art takes many forms. Statues and monuments stand tall all across the country. Architects whose names we rarely know leave their mark everywhere, sometimes with names we do know, like Golden Gate Park or Lincoln Center. In Chicago last year, citizens found colorful, one-of-a-kind plaster of Paris cows adorning their city’s downtown. And in smaller cities like Providence, RI, artists from around the world converge each summer to construct large, abstract installations of wood, metal, or other objects found along the city’s riverwalk. Throw kids into the mix as creators of public art, and the images shift. Their youthful “installations,” most often small drawings and paintings, typically appear inside public buildings—in school foyers, airport terminals, libraries, corporate lobbies. Their outside creations often pose a public nuisance: maybe chalk drawings on a sidewalk at best, offensive graffiti at worst. In some of America’s most neglected neighborhoods, sometimes the only public “art” to be found comes from a teen with a can of spray paint. Combine young people with mural painting, however, and the results are not just eye-catching but restorative in every sense. A 2,000-square-foot mural depicts the history of jazz in a Pittsburgh neighborhood once known for it. A mural on the theme of renewable energy spans two large walls in an environmentally unsafe San Francisco neighborhood where two-thirds of the children suffer from asthma. In Philadelphia, a mural of a farm stand overflowing with fruits and vegetables covers the side and back of a west end grocery store frequently hit with graffiti.

“We work with kids painting murals...” In October 1994, I read in the Philadelphia Inquirer about a store in Philadelphia that had been tagged [for graffiti]... I called the market, said I was an artist who had done inside murals, and volunteered to paint a mural. Jeff [the market’s manager] said, “the wall’s yours whenever you want to start.” ... I met an eight-year-old kid named Joey the first hour. In the second hour, his five brothers were helping me paint out the graffiti. By mid-afternoon I had at least 15 kids come and go. The third day I asked Jeff to give me the back of the store that faced the alley for the kids, and from there 100 plus kids visited the two walls from October through April. In April, we expanded across the street to the Texaco Station and down the alley to two homes. We have been asked by at least 200 people to come paint murals, and we've accepted most offers. We now have 11 murals going. We have a tough time saying no. So far over 300 kids have helped us... The kids are amazing, talented, loving, catty, nerdy, bad ass, insecure, and pretty much like any other kid we've run into—except there is little hope and plenty of people letting them down. ... There are a lot more stories to tell, but what is most important is the Art... We are lucky that what we put down on walls people really enjoy... — Website entry from the Ogontz Avenue Art Company, 1995

These murals and others like them, created by kids working alongside adult artists, breathe new life into public art. They are accessible. They bring together artists and communities to express something unique and important to them, to exchange stories and experiences, to recapture lost history, and express hope for a shared future. They bring all these to the attention of outsiders passing through. And they instill unusual pride in their young creators: “That’s my painting!”

In the collection that follows, WKCD presents examples of youth mural projects from around the country, including rural places, too. We include, too, murals by young artists that transcend place to promote international friendship, understanding, and peace. And don’t miss Rural Action’s Community Murals Handbook and other helpful resources. Kid Serve Youth Murals (San Francisco) Sprout Fund Public Art Program (Pittsburgh) Ogontz Avenue Art Company (Philadelphia) City of Atlanta Summer Murals The Singing Trees International Children’s Murals People To People International Global Youth Murals Project

Rural Action promotes economic, social, and environmental justice in 14 Appalachian Ohio counties. Funded by the Ohio Arts Council, Community Murals: Handbook & Case Studies is an illustrated, how-to handbook that details the community mural process as developed over the years by Rural Action. In addition to step-by-step guidelines, the book features essays by artists, funders, and community partners on topics like asset building, tourism, youth murals, and community involvement. A resource section lists helpful websites and publications. For more information or to order a copy of the book, visit the website or call 1-800-351-5074. See also Rural Action’s Mural Corridor project that links neighboring rural communities through murals as a way of supporting the local economy through cultural tourism.