The work began last year when Groundswell, in partnership with the NYC Department of Probation and the Pitkin Avenue Business Improvement District, won a National Endowment for the Arts grant of $100,000 for “Transform/Restore: Brownsville.” The two-year project will ultimately create five new murals in Brownsville, enlisting crews of young people to come up with the concepts for the art, design the murals to fit the allotted spaces, and then make them a reality. Some of the youth, who work under the supervision of Groundswell artists, are on probation, while others are Groundswell veterans who were originally referred to the program by teachers or community organizations. About 40 probationers will be involved by project’s end.
The goal: to beautify the neighborhood with art that has meaning for the community, while at the same time employing and engaging young New Yorkers and giving them a constructive environment in which to express themselves. [...]
The arts, he believes, can be a great avenue for that, and projects like the Groundswell murals can have a special power. The walls are all donated by local businesses that have a very real stake in seeing the young people who work on them succeed. “We try to re-engage our clients with the natural community controls that are going to be out there the rest of their lives,” said Schiraldi. “Now that businessman doesn’t just see them as a scary person in a North Face jacket. Maybe he’ll hire them.” [...]
As with any large-scale collaborative effort, creating the murals has hit some bumps along the way. The logistics of finding adequate work space over the winter were tough, and there were some creative differences as well. That’s all part of it. "It’s an intense process,” says Dougher, looking up at the finished piece. “An entirely rewarding process.”
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