Designed by a talented team of young women at the Rose M. Singer Center at Rikers Island, the mural imagines restorative futures for themselves and other women who have been or are incarcerated. To create this mural, entitled “The Freedom Within,” the team of young women artists reflected on their personal experiences during an intensive public artmaking program, presented with the support of the New York City Council through its STARS Citywide Girls Initiative.
 
“The arts have increasingly grown as a powerful mechanism to share powerful messages inspired by personal struggles and challenges that can empower both the artist and spectator,” said Council Member Laurie A. Cumbo about the mural. “Through public-private partnerships, we can encourage people of all backgrounds to tell their story in the most creative and imaginative way. The Freedom Within is a beautiful mural that will serve as a beacon of hope for the women at the Rose M. Singer Center at Rikers Island. As Chair of the Committee on Women’s Issues and a Member of the Committee on Cultural Affairs in the New York City Council, I look forward to creating similar opportunities that will uplift all women across the City of New York.”
 
The mural features a young woman in transformation. From the center of the mural, she gazes upward toward her future. Nature imagery surrounds her. Her multi-colored hair turns into rolling hills, her body swirls into whirlpool, and above her a ray of sunshine breaks through the clouds. The woman's hand emerges from the whirlpool, a rose in hand. 
 
 
 
 
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Ditmas I.S. 62 is a community, not just a school. To begin the mural design process, youth artists researched the many communities represented within the school, which is located within one of the most ethnically diverse zip codes in the nation. The students learned more about the history of the neighborhood and the many immigrant populations who call it home today. They had several guest speakers including I.S. 62 Principal Kevorkian, one of City Council Member Mathieu Eugene’s staff members, and a teacher who lived in the neighborhood for the last 30 years.
 
The team then identified common interests, concerns, and values which have the power to bring these diverse groups together. Finally, they explored their own personal stories, using the creation of personal mythologies as a framework. In the final mural, a young girl crosses a tightrope from her fears towards her aspirations.
 
“Unlock Your Dreams” is located directly across the street from I.S. 62, on an out-of-business pharmacy. The wall had been an eye sore to the community. Throughout fabrication, the support and excitement from the community was enormous. During the painting process, many people stopped by regularly to ask questions, offer thanks and congratulations, or to just watch as the team painted.
 
 
 
 
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“Local Heroes” enlivens a once neglected underpass with a vibrant tribute to the local heroes of Flatbush, including cultural icons – past and present, citywide, national, and international. This intensive research process enabled young people to discover local heroes and underrepresented leaders of color who have contributed to positive change within their community, the nation, and/or the world.
 
Within each panel, a local icon is paired with a national or international figure, creating meaningful dialogue within and across images. For example, in the first panel, which takes the form of a car, Pastor Gilford Monrose of Mount Zion Church is paired with political leader, journalist, and orator Marcus Garvey, who founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA-ACL). Pastor Gilford is renowned within East Flatbush for his tireless efforts to end gang violence through a clergy crisis response team.
 
In the fourth panel, shaped like a house, Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm, the first African-American woman elected to Congress, is paired with Dr. Una Clarke, the first Caribbean-born woman elected to the New York City Council. Additional figures represented include Connie Cincotta of Glenwood Masonry, Bishop Eric Daniel Garnes, Rosa Parks, Jackie Robinson, Malcolm X, Council Member Jumaane D. Williams, Nelson Mandella, and Assembly Member Helene Weinstein.
 
A railroad motif connects all the different panels, although only one pair is depicted in a traditional train car. The others – inspired by the contributions made by the paired heroes – included playful takes on transportation, like a locomotive steam engine, house on wheels, hot air balloon, house on wheels, bus, vintage car, and a carousel horse. 
 
 
 
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First opened in 2006, West Brooklyn Community High School is a transfer school that has enabled hundreds of students to graduate and developed lasting relationships with a once resistant neighborhood through its commitment to meaningful community-based connections. “Jaguar’s Quest” illustrates the transformative impact WBCHS makes on its students, empowering them with the inspiration and knowledge necessary to achieve success.
 
The mural has four main concepts: power, inspiration, freedom, and knowledge. The mural uses a main character, represented by the jaguar, to build the narrative. Together, the team explored how this character is shaped by the challenges it faces. Moving left to right, the first stage of the mural is the jaguar’s constellation being born from a black hole and transforming into a medicine man that is blessing and opening the path into awakening. Then appears a conglomerate of faces merging and facing onto different directions. The creation of the collective thinking of these monuments takes the shape of a phoenix that the jaguar rides for combat. Finally, the character transforms into a sphinx who writes an Adinkra symbol that represents the importance of being constantly open to learn throughout life.
 
Through this mural, WBCHS students told a very personal story of awakening and self-discovery through rich art historical references and symbolism from diverse cultural traditions, from Incan cosmogony to Ancestral Pueblo culture to Mexican Muralism.
 
 
 
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Designed by a talented team of New York City young women, “Assembling the Future” illustrates that the building of a strong healthy child is a community responsibility. They were inspired by the community partners for the project: Community League of the Heights (CLOTH), which provides services for the entire family, from child to senior citizen, and Community Health Academy of the Heights (CHAH).
 
The mural design centers on a golden, smiling child covered with a honeycomb motif. A young woman and an elder help build the child by placing honeycombs where pieces were missing. Surrounding the three figures are hexagonal shapes which show other components of a community’s health, such as education and housing. “Honeycombs are an advanced natural design,” said Lead Artist Crystal Bruno, “because they get the most out of the least amount of material. Their stability, harmony, and efficiency represent CLOTH and CHAH’s strength at promoting health.”
 
This project is made possible with public funds from the New York City Council through its STARS Citywide Girls Initiative. Through creating a mural focused everyone’s contributions, the youth women of color artists of “Assembling the Future” contributed their leadership towards inspiring others through their empowerment.
 
 
 
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Twelve students at South Brooklyn Community High School (SBCHS) participating in an intensive Cultural Afterschool Adventures (CASA) Program to create this mural, “The Sea of Transformation,” in their school cafeteria. When students first enroll at SBCHS, a model transfer high school operated in partnership with Good Shepherd Services, they are asked one question: “What are you ready to change?”
 
Inspired by this question, the youth mural team reflected on the transformation of students at SBCHS: During an intensive research phase, they interviewed SBCHS staff, administration, fellow students, and alumni. They developed visual imagery that reflects the growth and development of SBCHS young people, from who these students are when they arrive to who they’ve become as they prepare to graduate. In recognition of SBCHS’s Red Hook location, this transformation is captured in the mural in vibrant ocean imagery, including a seagull taking flight and a mermaid figure which evokes notions of change and renewal.
 
Across the top of the mural reads a poem written by one of the youth participants: “Darkened youth. Consume Inspiration. Embrace your soul.” The mural itself follows this poem’s message: starting from dark and troubled places, moments of transformation lead to the colorful bounty of possibility.
 
 
 
 
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Designed by a talented team of High School for Arts and Business students, “The Seed of Diversity” illustrates the diversity of the neighborhood of Corona, a vibrant community which is home to multi-generational families representing a multitude of cultures, nationalities, and ethnicities. The mural was installed on the side of Food Bazaar Supermarket, adding a conversation around food diversity and how to support it into the fabric of the design.
 
The mural design is anchored by an image of an elder, knitting a quilt, illustrating the tight knit nature of the neighborhood. In the middle of the mural image is a baby designed to evoke a seed with roots emerging from it. Two large hands move to embrace the baby, representing the community taking care of its future. A dragon in the shape of a subway train gives further shape to the composition.
 

The “Transformation” panel series creates a powerful visual identity for the innovative restorative services provided by the Midtown Community Court. The panels were created by court-involved youth artists and Groundswell peer leaders and will be installed for public display at the Midtown Community Court. Through this project, seven teen artists, working under the guidance of Lead Artist Gina Goico, created the panel series as part of Groundswell’s Segue opportunity, an afterschool program during which court-involved youth create public art projects for community-based partner organizations and learn the art and leadership skills necessary to transition Groundswell’s youth employment programs.
 
The panel series consists of four panels. These panels are grouped around four main themes the youth artists felt are encompassed within Midtown Community Court’s approach. These include self-knowledge, safe space, personal transformation, and community transformation. The panels are rendered with a vibrant color palette to visually engage viewers in their positive message. Text emphasizes the transformative potential of innovative models like Midtown’s: “Today is tomorrow’s yesterday. Today is the day where I transform.”

This street art-inspired mural affirms the core values of the Secondary School for Law: Justice, Equity, Family, and Community. One of four schools housed on the John Jay Campus in Park Slope, the Secondary School for Law is in the midst of a positive transformation, with increased enrollment, strengthened teaching, deepened supports for students, and graduation rates on the rise. With a recently unrolled visual identity and logo as inspiration, student muralists have celebrated this transformation through a powerful new public artwork that will educate thousands of future students about the school’s special focus on law.
 
The youth artists created imagery to illustrate Secondary School for Law’s commitment to justice and equity, embodied in its tagline “One Law One Voice One Spirit.” The youth artists were inspired by street art and graffiti and incorporated original text from their personal prose into the mural design. With a youth-driven, street art-inspired mural, these emerging artists and scholars are calling for equality and justice under the law for all. In doing so, they have added their voices and perspectives to the important public dialogue taking place in communities across the country, from Ferguson to Baltimore, to right here in Park Slope.
 
 
 
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Following a series of violent incidents within the local neighborhood, youth artists expressed a strong desire to leverage the mural making process as an opportunity to send a message to the broader community that they do not feel safe and desire change. “Domino Effect” illustrates how Kappa III equips its students with the tools and skills needed to strengthen their community and achieve educational and professional success. In their design workshops, the students created imagery to celebrate Kappa III’s commitment to fostering a nurturing, learning environment where young people in the Bronx can activate their full potential.
 
The youth artists created a mural which celebrates Kappa III as a safe haven for students – a supportive space in which young people can thrive and develop into leaders and professionals. In the mural, dominoes represent the devastating impact an act of violence has across the community while paint brushes and pens illustrate the positive impact an act of creativity can make. The mural frames an entrance to the building.

 
 
 
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