Using Art as a Tool for Social Change

The New York City Department of Probation, the Pitkin Avenue Business Improvement District, and Groundswell present Transform/Restore: Brownsville, a transformative mural project. This participatory public art project is supported by the National Endowment for the Arts’ Our Town program and Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Regional Economic Development Council (REDC) Initiative.

This two-year initiative will use a series of community public art making projects to:

• Bring together artists, young adult probation clients, Groundswell youth leaders, local businesses, and community members to identify and highlight the “Hidden Treasures” of Brownsville.

• Support Brownsville residents in strengthening economic activity, reducing crime, and increasing public safety on the Pitkin Avenue commercial corridor through public art interventions and planned streetscape enhancements.

• Provide talented youth, including young adult probation clients, with a highly visible platform to create permanent and positive change within their own neighborhood, while expanding their access to new opportunities, resources, and services.

• Stimulate continued community-wide social and civic engagement by producing something visible and valuable that can generate momentum for growth and attract other public/private investments.

• Provide a model for other cities, community-based organizations, and government agencies to use art as a tool for a more just and equitable world.

Read the City of New York's press release.

Learn more about our project partners: 

• NYC Department of Probation
• Pitkin Avenue BID