Building Community for the Future
Active Design in the Time of COVID-19
Applying parachute cloth to the wall at PS 72 in El Barrio in a process much like hanging wall paper.
Creative Art Works has developed a very healthy relationship with the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) Bureau of Chronic Disease Prevention. Over the past four years, CAW has partnered with the DOHMH’s Active Design in Schools program on 13 youth-inspired murals at public schools in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens. These interactive art works encourage students to create their own games by physically interacting with their built environment. We have written extensively about this partnership in the past, and you can read more about it HERE. Since the beginning of the pandemic CAW has created four Active Design murals, two interior gym murals at PS 7 and PS 133 in Queens, and two exterior murals at PS 72 and PS 30 in East Harlem.
It’s All About the Process
What makes CAW’s approach to these murals special is that we work to include input from as many stakeholders in the community as possible. Students ask for feedback on the design of the mural from parents, teachers, school staff, and members of the community. They then learn fundamentals of composition and color theory before they collaborate on a design proposal.
Students at PS 30 designed their active design mural with guidance from a CAW Teaching Artist and input from their community.
“Creative Art Works runs a series of workshops with the youth at the school that develop art skills, as well as cultivate ideas about how to use their built environment and what they would like to see happen to it. This really gives kids ownership over the changes that happen to their space, which empowers them to create changes in their own world that are relevant for them.”
Community Involvement and Student Engagement
CAW’s curriculum for DOHMH murals is focused on the design process and community-building. Students spend many days brain-storming ideas, interviewing local stakeholders, refining their design, and preparing a formal design presentation to their school leadership. The installation of the mural typically happens over the course of a few days with participation by members of the school community and, sometimes, CAW Youth Apprentice Alumni. Since the bulk of the program happens before painting begins, we have been able to run successful programs at four schools even in the midst of a pandemic and school closures.
“The fascinating part was how CAW adjusted the program in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. CAW’s Teaching Artists were amazing at capturing our kids’ attention even though the classes were online. They developed relationships with our kids virtually. They took all of our stakeholders into account, but they allowed our students to be the orchestrators of the final artwork.”
Everybody at PS 72 had a chance to contribute to the mural — PS 72 Art Teacher Stacey Ramos worked with her students to design this lettering.
The student-led designs for PS 30 and PS 72 were painted onto panels of parachute cloth by CAW’s Teaching Artists. The panels were then applied to the wall much the same way as one might put up wallpaper, only the industrial adhesive is permanent and might possibly outlast the brick it’s applied to. Student-designed gym murals at PS 7 and PS 133 were digitally printed onto vinyl sheets that were affixed to the walls using a vinyl heat transfer process.
Born in El Barrio
Part of the visual tapestry of East Harlem. The mural at PS 72 is 60 feet wide by 20 feet tall and is visible from blocks away.
We are always thrilled to work in East Harlem as it is the neighborhood where CAW got its start nearly 35 years ago. There are several other CAW murals in the immediate vicinity of PS 72, including Growing Hope. PS 30 and PS 133 are not far from Peace Place, CAW’s oldest existing mural and one of our most iconic. They are also mere blocks from Harlem River and Harlem Projections in Harlem River Park. PS 7 is a few blocks south of Harlem Sunrise facing the main entrance to the 125th Street Metro North Station. East Harlem is also home to many other notable murals by professional artists.
CAW’s Active Design murals for the DOHMH play an important role in creating community, invigorating the learning environment, and promoting a healthy lifestyle.
Creative Art Works is grateful to longstanding supporters Structure Tone and Sherwin Williams, who donate paint and painting supplies that help make our murals possible.
From sketch to color comp to final design to finished mural. The two soccer players featured in the mural at PS 72 Lexington Academy are based on students who have attended the school since pre-K. Both have been perennial players on the soccer team and embody the best of the school.
Wide shot and details of the finished mural at PS 7 in Queens
The finished mural at PS 133 in Queens
The finished mural at PS 30