NYC MURAL ARTS PROJECT
NYC MURAL ARTS PROJECT
1 in 5 New Yorkers experience a mental health condition in a given year, yet mental health and mental illness are, oftentimes, misunderstood or not discussed. These stigmas may hold people back from seeking support and recognizing multiple factors that affect health and wellness. These conversations are rarely discussed in community spaces or harnessed to collectively develop something for a neighborhood.
So, [OBJECTIVE] how can the community mural making process engage various people in constructive mental health conversations and support awareness around mental health and community-based topics?
"COLLECTIVE PRAYER FOR THE NEW YOU"
3450 Dekald Ave Bronx, NY
The NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) sought to develop a program to promote mental health awareness and stigma reduction using a community driven process. I was hired by the NYC Mural Arts Project to design, paint, and put up this mural alongside its creator, New Orleans artist Paul Deo. Together, we utilized the poly tab process to allow members of the community and those in LGBTQ & mental health facilities to play an active role in painting a message to and for their own neighborhood.
Members of the community were able to pitch ideas towards what they wanted to see in this piece through a series of classroom style sessions. This design was a direct result of those conversations. Once the mural process began, Polytab was used to allow members of the community to paint on the mural itself before it was positioned and installed on the wall by us. Afterwards, all 35 (5 x 5 feet) panels came together to create the beauty you see here!