PS 354Q: A Brighter Southside

The theme for this mural came from something Assistant Principal Davis said to the students during the first class, which was a suggestion for them to think about their neighborhood and how they think about it from a societal view (the students that were selected for this project were mostly from the student government or were recommended by their art teacher). The different classes approached this idea from another viewpoint which was more to envision an ideal neighborhood. The result is a mural filled with children playing outdoors, a bright colorful sky filled with visible planets, and a neighborhood with delicious food shops, a bookstore and petting zoo.

We spent about 12 weeks from the classroom to the mural with the students, plus an additional week or two to touch up the details. The wall that was selected by the school is in the front of the school and is easily seen by anyone driving/passing by Bedell St. In fact, we would constantly have passersby comment on the mural whenever we were outside. We were approached by a student’s grandmother asking if we also did workshops with the libraries in neighborhoods saying it would also be great if we did. During the ribbon cutting, the students were asking if we could paint more murals. In addition, Assistant Principal Davis pointed out to Dr. Remy (the principal), that their names were permanently written on the school.

Overall the students were very creative and had fun coming up with ideas for the mural. The most hilarious part was the 3^rd and 4^th graders being surprised when we told them that they would be painting outside the following week as though it was the first time they’d heard about it.