Thomas MacMIllan Photo
A group of teens is putting a new face on a “dirty,” “ugly,” and “spooky” abandoned building in Newhallville.
Those were some of the adjectives used by teens in a leadership program at the Your Place youth center as they gathered at the corner of Starr Street and Winchester Avenue. They were looking at the side of 568 Winchester Ave., an abandoned building with boarded-up windows and a peeling graffiti mural on the wall.
That wall will be covered in a brand new mural in a few weeks. The Your Place teens were there to begin the creative process by taking a look at the wall and imagining what they’d like to see in it’s place.
The project is being spearheaded by Sarah Custer (at center in photo), an AmeriCorps volunteer at Neighborhood Housing Services of New Haven. Standing on a step on Tuesday, Custer asked the teens to describe the building, eliciting the adjectives above.
Custer asked them how the building makes them feel.
“Disgusted,” said one.
“Like I want to slap somebody,” said another.
Custer said she wanted to work with the teens to create a new mural, one made with community input. “I really want this to be something where the whole community has buy-in,” she said. “This can be your project. … You can really have an active stand.”
Custer made a plan with Your Place program manager for the teens to draw and write on Wednesday about what they’d like the mural to look like.
The mural will be painted with the help of artist Katro Storm, who’s responsible for the READ mural at the Stetson Branch library on Dixwell Avenue.
The Sherwin-Williams company has volunteered to spray-clean and prime the wall in preparation for the mural, Custer said.
Painting will begin on June 7.
Asked later what they want the mural to look like, several young people shouted out answers. “Kids holding hands singing Kumbaya. … Smiling faces.”
What message do you want to send?
“Heal the world!” said 15-year-old Moet Bacote (in top photo, in blue shirt).
“Stop the violence in New Haven!” said 16-year-old A’Nesha White (at left in top photo).
Can a mural really stop violence?
Definitely, said White.
“No,” said 17-year-old Jordan Young (in photo below, second from right), seated nearby. That’s not realistic, he said.
No mural can do that, said Jamel Outlaw (at right in photo below). But it could be a start for something, he added.
Very cool! With these kids leading the project and with Katro's help I know this will be a great success!
And, don't underestimate the power of a mural to affect your surroundings. Usually, people respond more to symbols than to speech. Symbols trigger a visceral reaction. Positive symbols = positive actions.