Youth Design Mural Series at Recreation Centers

Many small children sitting around a long table with paints of various colors. — Lead Teaching Artist Becky McIntyre and Assistant Teaching Artist Kashana Ricketts teach the youth about color mixing.

Mural Arts’ Education Department has continued its six-part collaboration with Philadelphia Parks & Recreation to work with rec center youth and create new murals across the city.

Building on a strong foundation in youth and neighborhood-based arts programming, this initiative aimed to promote cross-generational involvement and create a network of trusted messengers for creative self-expression and community safety. Students engaged in a multi-week art education program that taught foundational art-making skills, nurtured creative expression, and boosted self-confidence. The program culminates in a mural project, co-designed and painted by the youth in collaboration with their instructors and the Mural Arts Rec Crew. Graduates of the Guild program can join the Rec Crew to work at rec centers across the city, revitalizing community spaces and supporting mural installations. Our fourth and fifth projects in this series are:

WAVE OF EMOTION AT WINCHESTER RECREATION CENTER

Lead Teaching Artist and Muralist Becky McIntyre, Assistant Teaching Artist Kashana Ricketts, and Mural Arts’ Rec Crew have been working with Winchester Recreation Center’ s after-school program over ten weeks to design a mural facing the playground. The teaching artist team worked with the youth to identify their emotions and channel them into creativity. Check out the progress of the mural being painted at the Rec Crew's studio at 915 Spring Garden Street.

Assistant Teaching Artist Kashana Ricketts teaches the youth how to weave a fish.

A participant writes a positive affirmation.

YOUTH-LED MURAL AT HUNTING PARK RECREATION CENTER

Lead Teaching Artist and Muralist Miriam Singer, Assistant Teaching Artist Nevaeh Ryals, and the Rec Crew have been working with Hunting Park Recreation Center’ s after-school program over ten weeks to design a mural for their after-school space. The teaching artist team has been working with the youth to talk about where home is to them and encourage them to design their own spaces and neighborhoods.

FUNDER: PA Commission on Crime and Delinquency