Community Murals

For the past 20 years, I have work with schools, community organizations, art space and museums in the creation of community murals to further develop my philosophical belief that art belongs to everyone, not just the wealthy, art galleries and museums. Community murals are not created for "art's sake", but rather give a community the skills necessary to maintain this art form. The mural process encourages participants of different ages and socioeconomic backgrounds to collaborate, develop friendships, and learn from each other while developing their art skills. The creation of many of the murals I have worked on has included groups of people highly diverse in terms of race, gender, age, and level of artistic competency.

I believe that the people involved in the painting process feel an ownership to the mural and are proud of their work. Kids enjoy bringing their parents to show them what they've painted. Murals can espouse political views, family values, cultural pride, or historic events. The mural reflects the needs, hopes and dreams of the community who creates them. They are part of a community arts movement which emerges as an alternative art education program by ordinary people as they reach out to their community.