July 30, 2018

Art Meets Social Change at Groundswell

Park Slope Reader - Groundswell, founded in 1996, brings together youth, teaching artists and community organizations to facilitate community building, personal growth and social change through the process of mural-making. Mural content often represents perspectives that are less likely to find such a public platform otherwise.

 

The organization runs many programs and projects throughout the year in schools and neighborhoods all over New York City. The summer programming, however, holds a particular place in the organization. Amelia Calsi, Manager of Mural Operations at Groundswell, explained, “For summer, specifically, we get to partner with groups that give us a little more autonomy in what we get to talk about, which is exciting for us because then the youth that we work with really get a lot of voice in the project and in the visuals — as in every project that they do — but we get to tackle just a little more controversial topics.”

 

Groundswell’s summer opportunities span several programs, including the organization’s flagship program, the Summer Leadership Institute, which runs for six weeks from July to August.

 

After participating in Segue — a program that introduces youth to Groundswell and the mural-making process — his first summer with the organization, Rijo participated in the Summer Leadership Institute’s Making His’tory project. Read more here!

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