Mural Education and Design

coined as Mural ED is an umbrella title for the artist in residency program developed by our team. Starting from the need for community engagement through public art, this program was namelessly executed through out the majority of the Newark Mural Programs existence.  The curriculum was closely modeled after Mural Arts in Philadelphia. Mural ED at its earliest inception was one or two visual artists operating from a selected school’s art room, working with students selected by the administration or an Art teacher. These murals were mostly designed on parachute cloth to provide greater access of the mural process to student participation.

Mural ED as we know it now is a scholastic step towards workforce and career development. It originally began in 2015 through the My Brother’s Keeper mural project with the intention to provide an expressive outlet to nurture leadership in young men of color for career readiness.  To date, Mural ED has been a consistent initiative now evolving past solely young men of color and now including all student employees between the ages of fourteen and nineteen years of age. 

Mural Ed is also a perfect example of cross sector collaboration, the program has been housed at the Boys and Girls Club, Help USA’s JBJ Soul Home, various Community Centers and the Newark Boys Chorus School. Our program guides each student employee through a six week curriculum where they learn how to design mural concepts, learn about the history of mural/street art, and are exposed to a myriad of guest artists and arts organizations. The program ends with a culminating trip to Philadelphia to tour Mural Arts, visit an Art Museum, and have lunch at a large marketplace providing a true enrichment experience.