Programs
Groundswell serves New York 's low-income communities through the following programs:
- Summer Leadership Institute (SLI). A summer job training program where youth work with Groundswell artists to create six works of public art. Teams include Voices Her’d (all girls), Making His’tory (all boys), Great Walls (murals about community culture), and Organizing/Community Education Initiative (public art addressing grassroots community campaign issues).
- Teen Empowerment Mural Apprenticeship (TEMA). Two concurrent youth development driven after school programs where teens create public art for community based organizations, modeled on a traditional apprenticeship structure.
- Voices Her’d Visionaries (VHV). An after school program where young women research issues that affect women. Participants learn all aspects of researching and developing a large-scale summer Voices Her’d mural.
- Turn-Style/Riker’s Residencies. After school programs for juvenile offenders, both those incarcerated on Riker’s Island and those adjudicated to complete community service requirements for minor offences. Program runs in partnership with Red Hook Community Court, the Brooklyn DA’s Office, Department of Education and Department of Corrections.
- Community Mural Action Program (CMAP). Schools and community groups contract with Groundswell to develop public art projects that reflect their mission.
- Arts-In-Education (AIE). Partnership with Brooklyn High School of the Arts to create school wide plan to integrate the arts into the school’s curricula over a five year period.
- Internships. Through internships, Groundswell is able to provide further training for interested persons, who are usually participants from past Great Walls projects. This program provides one-on-one development in arts education and administration. Interns have also gone on to work as Assistant Lead Muralists on Great Walls projects.