Designed and painted with a dozen youth (ages 15-22) during weekly sessions in the spring and full-time for six weeks, including one community paint day. Part of Groundswell’s 2022 Summer Institute Leadership program, in collaboration with Paramount media company and Louis Armstrong Houses community, this mural is meant to activate the space as a creative amphitheater, celebrating both individual self-expression and the community as a whole. From left to right, life in Bed Stuy is illustrated over the four seasons of the year, winter through fall, enveloping the viewer on all sides while people use their voice and creativity through various media forms: writing, music, painting, video, photography, and activism. This mural is simultaneously a declaration of affection for the Bed Stuy community as well as encouragement every individual to be creative, be heard, and share your voice with the world.
