Groundswell's Summer Leadership Institute ended today with a joyful youth banquet, hosted at the Brooklyn Lyceum.
 
140 young people started the summer six weeks ago as relative strangers. Today, they ended their experience as family.
 
During today's celebration, the young people shared their learning with one another, showed off photographs of their process and finished murals, honored each other with awards for Most Valuable Painter and Most Improved, and of course - cheered one another on during an incredible talent show!
 
While the young people's program may have ended, there is still time for you to engage in our summer experience.
 
Please join us for one of our upcoming mural dedications!
 
Visit our event calendar for more information or find a complete list below.
 
Happy summer!
 

DWI Jackson Heights
As Vision Zero gains momentum, Groundswell teen muralists will collaborate with the New York City Department of Transportation to educate New Yorkers through public art about the prevention of Driving While Intoxicated (DWI). The mural will promote the important role all members of the community have to play in stopping DWI and prepare youth participants with DWI deterrence strategies with the potential to save lives. 
 
This project is made possible with funds from NY STOP-DWI.
 
Lead Artist: Olivia Fu
Co-Lead Artist: Angel Garcia
Community Partners: Food Bazaar Supermarket on Junction Boulevard and the New York City Department of Transportation
Location: 34-20 Junction Boulevard, Jackson Heights, NY 11372
 
Dedication: September 3rd, 11am-12pm at wall location.
 
Greenpoint Environmental Justice
In collaboration with The Greenpoint Chamber of Commerce and the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, Groundswell youth artists will celebrate Greenpoint’s history of environmental justice activism and highlight the importance of watershed stewardship. The mural, to be installed at MS 126 Magnet School for Environmental Engineering, will motivate participants and the community to learn more about local watershed conservation and infrastructure, and further explore careers in related environmental sectors.
 
This project is made possible with funding provided by the Office of the New York State Attorney General and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation through the Greenpoint Community Environmental Fund and the Catskill Watershed Corporation. Additional support is provided by New York City Councilmember Stephen Levin and the New York State Office of Public Safety.
 
Lead Artist: Yana Dimitrova
Assistant Artist: Ruth Hofheimer
Community Partners: The Greenpoint Chamber of Commerce and the New York City Department of Environmental Protection
Location: 424 Leonard Street, Greenpoint, Brooklyn, NY 11222
 
Dedication: September 2nd, 11am-12pm at wall location.
 
Jamaica NeON Arts
Recognizing education as the most crucial step toward success in life, Groundswell teen mural artists will give voice to disconnected youth in South Jamaica in an effort to combat the high school dropout crisis. By empowering disconnected youth with a highly visible public platform, the project will place young adult probation clients and community members on a path to graduation and affirm the importance of education to a vibrant South Jamaica.
 
This project is made possible with funds from NeON Arts, a program of the NYC Department of Probation in partnership with Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute. Funding to support NeON Arts is provided by the Open Society Foundations through a grant to the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City in support of the NYC Young Men’s Initiative.
 
Lead Artist: DonChristian Jones
Assistant Artist: Sofia Maldonado
Community Partners: Jamaica NeON
Location: 107-25 Wren Place, Jamaica, NY 11433
 
Dedication: September 3rd, 2-3pm at wall location.
 
Making His’tory
In partnership with the Brownsville Community Justice Center, Groundswell teen artists—some with a prior involvement with the justice system—will raise awareness of the causes and effects of incarceration. Using public art as a means of expression and civic participation, the mural will inspire a sense of self-empowerment and agency by engaging youth as agents of social change and active community contributors.
 
This project is made possible with funds from The Center for Court Innovation and the Brownsville Community Justice Center through the Fund for the City of New York. Additional support is provided by the Charles Lawrence Keith and Clara Miller Foundation, David Rockefeller Fund, and Dedalus Foundation.
 
Lead Artist: Esteban del Valle
Assistant Artist: Jose de Jesus Rodriguez
Community Partners: Brownsville Community Justice Center and Food Bazaar Supermarket on Junius Street
Location: 417 Junius Street, Brownsville, Brooklyn, NY 11212
 
Dedication: August 28th, 2-3pm at wall location.
 
The Trust for Public Land: CS 300 Playground
In partnership with The Trust for Public Land, Groundswell youth will create a mural to serve as a backdrop to a new playground planned for the C.S. 300 Twin Parks campus, which houses C.S. 300, I.S. 129, and Kappa III. For many in the community, the building is not just school but home. Through the transformation of the schoolyard through public art, youth artists will support community stakeholders in creating a beautiful public space where young people’s futures can take flight.
 
This project is made possible with funds from The Trust for Public Land.
 
Lead Artist: Pasqualina Azzarello
Assistant Artist: Ifeatuanya Chiejina
Community Partners: The Trust for Public, C.S. 300, I.S. 129, and Kappa III
Location: 2050 Prospect Avenue, Tremont, Bronx, NY 10457
 
Dedication: August 29th, 1-2pm at wall location.
 
Transform/ Restore Brownsville
Groundswell’s NEA grant award-winning initiative Transform/Restore: Brownsville, presented in collaboration with the New York City Department of Probation and the Pitkin Avenue BID, will engage young adult probation clients, local businesses, and community members in the creation of visible and permanent change within their own community. As the third mural unveiled among a series of five, this project will highlight Brownsville’s hidden treasures and celebrate the unsung heroes of the neighborhood.
 
This project is made possible through the generous support of the National Endowment for the Arts, through its national Our Town initiative; New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Council on the Arts, through the Regional Economic Development Council (REDC) Initiative; and the Pitkin Avenue Business Improvement District. Lead scholarship support is provided by Barclays/ Brooklyn Nets.
 
Lead Artist: Misha Tyutyunik
Assistant Artist: Justin Batten
Community Partners: New York City Department of Probation and the Pitkin Avenue BID
Location: 62 Herzl Street, Brownsville, Brooklyn, NY 11212
 
Dedication: September 2nd, 2-3pm at wall location.
 
VIP Community Services
Groundswell will engage VIP Community Services adult clients in the research, design, and creation of a large-scale mural to generate public awareness around the complex issue of chemical dependency. The project will inspire self-sufficiency and social participation and support VIP Community Service’s commitment to changing lives and transforming its community.
 
This project is made possible with funds from VIP Community Services.
 
Lead Artist: Marc Evan
Assistant Artist: Raul Ayala
Community Partner: VIP Community Services
Location: 764 E 176th Street, Tremont, Bronx, NY 10460
 
Dedication: August 29th, 11am-12pm at wall location.
 
Voices Her’d Visionaries
Through a neighborhood beautification project, Groundswell Voices Her’d Visionaries team will use art as a tool to inspire dialogues about reproductive health in Bushwick. The project will present a new perspective on supporting young women’s growth and development through self-love and affirmative decisions to generate hope in the community and extend the conversation to the care networks of local young women.
 
This project is made possible with funds from EILEEN FISHER, Charles Lawrence Keith and Clara Miller Foundation, and the Irene B. Wolt Lifetime Trust.
 
Lead Artist: Crystal Bruno
Assistant Artist: Lauren Baccus
Community Partner: Food Bazaar Supermarket
Location: 17-59 Ridgewood Place, Bushwick, Brooklyn, NY 11237
 
Dedication: August 28th, 4-5pm at wall location.