Students Enrich The Neighborhood With Vibrant Public Art Projects

What is it really like to be a middle school student in Ditmas Park?

This week, two neighborhood schools will unveil vibrant student murals that express their answers to that very question.

Throughout the school year, 12 students from IS 62 Ditmas and 15 students from Midwood High School worked with an arts non-profit to research, design, and paint two ambitious murals in the neighborhood.

Groundswell, the NYC-based non-profit arts organization, helped students identify their neighborhood’s strongest local values, then design a mural that lets students make their personal mark on a local landmark.

The Groundswell program prides itself on letting the students take charge. “It’s not like adult artists are coming in and taking over,” said Ariel Estrella of Groundswell. “It’s an organic process, using the youth’s ideas and sketches integrated into the design.”

For students at IS 62 Ditmas and Midwood HS, the mural project grew into a chance to explore their own feelings about graduation and their neighborhood roots. “I’m stunned by how much each of these artists were able to fit in,” said Ariel.

Each school group built the mural around a theme that was meaningful to them. At Midwood HS, students took their research to the streets and explored their neighborhood with a local historian. They ended up with a vibrant portrait series representing different moments in Midwood’s history—hitting on Native American themes, the industrial revolution, and modern robotics.

Midwood HS students are currently painting their mural on an wall at the Triangle Junction parking lot on Nostrand Ave and Avenue H, transforming a desolate, empty space:

Into this vision of color and culture:

For students at IS 62, the mural design took on an expressionist angle: a series of abstract images that captured the energy of life at middle school, inspired by deep-dive interviews and personal research with other students. Instead of painting directly onto the wall, students painted on parachute fabric to install in a triptych-like design onto the school’s doors. For the students, this has a double meaning—leaving their legacy behind as they transition to high school, and welcoming new students as they walk back into these same doors.

Watching the mural come to life is certainly the most exciting step for both students and Groundswell artists.

The program was funded by a grant from the city council and both City Council Members Mathieu Eugene and Jumaane D. Williams, respectively.

Join students and Council Member Mathieu Eugene for the mural unveiling at IS 62 Ditmas on Wednesday, Jun 8 at 9am, at 700 Cortelyou Road. Thanks to Groundswell lead artists Ashton Agbomenou and Zhenwei Xie, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the New York City Council.

Join students and Council Member Jumaane Williams for the mural unveiling at Midwood High School on Saturday, June 11 at 9am, at Nostrand Avenue and Avenue H. Thanks to Groundswell lead artists Misha Tyutyunik and Iris Loughran, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the New York City Council.