On July 10th, from 9am – 12pm at the Arch Social Club, located on Pennsylvania Avenue, each group participating in the ART@WORK: SANDTOWN program presented their sketches, ideas, and inspirations for the murals that they plan to bring to life.
As members of the community arrived, ready to ask questions and give feedback to the youth, members of Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts and Jubilee Arts were being interviewed by local news stations about what the goals are of this program and how its going thus far. After everyone settled, the groups were introduced and the presentations began.
With maturity and grace each group walked up to the stage, introduced themselves, and talked about what inspired them to draw what they did and why. One group was particularly inspired by African Murals and Art, another team took what people around the community said to heart during interviews and wished to see African American leaders throughout history depicted. Each group chose team names and had PowerPoint presentations ready for viewing, some group names included: Lillian Jones Mural Squad, The Bmore Artletes, and Art Major.
At the end of the presentations the members of the community spoke up and asked questions about locations, further explanations on color choices, phrases being used within the murals, and reasons for certain artistic decisions such as abstract representations rather than realistic . Each question was answered eloquently by either one of the youth members or the mentoring artists supervising each group. And as the questions concluded, everyone was satisfied with the end results.
Though each group were individuals and not one mural design looked alike, what inspired them and what they drew for their presentations all had a common theme: to rebuild, revive, and strengthen the community that they live in and love.