There are many excellent efforts across the country which employ art into the planning realm. In the vast majority of the cases, an artist is brought into the equation to add works to a location or along a corridor.
None of these efforts established elsewhere have impressed this retired planner for their scope and their ability to involve young people on a consistent basis as much as the Youth Mural Program in Silver City, New Mexico. Established in 2002, the Youth Mural Program does not solely teach students how to paint or create art, but it also builds their knowledge of local history, enhances their pride of place, improves their teamwork and leadership skills, and adds many other subtle intangibles that help create a sense of community.
As I stated to one of the students who asked what a city planner does;
“I certainly prefer organic community planning efforts such as this mosaic project versus traditional top-down planning initiatives.”
Source: panethos.wordpress.com
We had the honor of spending a volunteer work day with the lead adult artist, the school staff coordinator, and 11 students currently involved with the program to help install a beautiful tile mosaic that is being placed at the Senator Anderson Overlook of the famed Gila Wilderness in Gila National Forest. The tile mosaic helps celebrate the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Gila Wilderness in 1924.
But, its not just the high school students that are benefiting from this program that is coordinated with help from the New Mexico’s Youth Conservation Corps, but area elementary school students were instrumental in creating the tile animal images being applied to the overlook. In addition, any visitor to the overlook benefits from the scenic and artistic beauty, as well as the important messages being conveyed by the mosaic.
In the six hours we were working there, numerous locals, as well as out-of-state tourists from as far away as Georgia, Oregon, and Colorado, expressed their appreciation for the work being done by the students, as well as the messages being conveyed by the work effort and within the art itself.
The high schoolers involved not only earn credit for their school time spent working on the mosaic project, but they are paid for the work hours, learn important responsibilities, and build a working rapport with their classmates and adult coordinators.
The Youth Mural Program is no one and done activity. It creates artistic attributes while also maintaining them over time. This requires dedication from everyone involved and establishes a continuing legacy from generation to generation of high school students in the greater Silver City community.
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Panethos 