Twelve students at South Brooklyn Community High School (SBCHS) participating in an intensive Cultural Afterschool Adventures (CASA) Program to create this mural, “The Sea of Transformation,” in their school cafeteria. When students first enroll at SBCHS, a model transfer high school operated in partnership with Good Shepherd Services, they are asked one question: “What are you ready to change?”
 
Inspired by this question, the youth mural team reflected on the transformation of students at SBCHS: During an intensive research phase, they interviewed SBCHS staff, administration, fellow students, and alumni. They developed visual imagery that reflects the growth and development of SBCHS young people, from who these students are when they arrive to who they’ve become as they prepare to graduate. In recognition of SBCHS’s Red Hook location, this transformation is captured in the mural in vibrant ocean imagery, including a seagull taking flight and a mermaid figure which evokes notions of change and renewal.
 
Across the top of the mural reads a poem written by one of the youth participants: “Darkened youth. Consume Inspiration. Embrace your soul.” The mural itself follows this poem’s message: starting from dark and troubled places, moments of transformation lead to the colorful bounty of possibility.
 
 
 
 
⇒ Download educational curriculum (pdf)