Jess Poplawski
Jessica Poplawski holds a BFA in printmaking from Pratt Institute. She has worked with Groundswell as both an artist and a staff member for over four years. A Chicago native, she is now a Brooklyn-based artist involved in the self-publishing and independent music communities in NYC.
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Boatema (She Brings Strength)
Created by a team of all young women, Boatema (She Brings Strength) centers around a growth and transformation narrative. Both ends of the mural have a hand holding a cracked open seed that i... -
Keep Calm, Slow Down
Groundswell and the New York City Department of Transportation (NYC DOT) designed the Traffic Safety Sign Residency Program to engage IS 218 public school students in exploring traffic safety infor... -
Eat Well, Stay Active, Live Long
Groundswell collaborated with Horizons Juvenile Detention Center and Montefiore Medical Center to develop a series of murals depicting the importance of community health, proper eating habits, and ... -
“Urban Garden” and “Tree of Health”
Groundswell collaborated with Horizons Juvenile Detention Center and Montefiore Medical Center to develop a series of murals depicting the importance of community health, proper eating habits, and ... -
The Freedom Within
Designed by a talented team of young women at the Rose M. Singer Center at Rikers Island, the mural imagines restorative futures for themselves and other women who have been or are incarcerated. To... -
STOP LOOK WALK Safety Sign
Fifteen seniors worked with Groundswell artist Jess Poplawski to create a traffic safety sign that addresses their concerns about safe street crossing in their neighborhood. The team worked closely... -
Children Crossing Safety Sign
Beginning in November of 2013, students from PS 307K in Brooklyn began discussing the issue of distracted driving and, as a result, pedestrian endangerments near their school. Students drew inspira... -
Alert and Ready Wins the Race
Beginning in November, students from PS 232 came together to create a new street sign to benefit the community around them and promote social change. Originally inspired by the phrase, Slow and ... -
The Peace of Womenkind
Groundswell was commissioned by Montefiore Medical Center to engage young women residents of Horizons Juvenile Center in the creation of two new murals for the inside of two Montefiore OB/GYN clinics. -
Mother of All
“Mother of All” depicts a surrealist image of a reclining mother and baby. The mother’s braids and blanket transform into an undulating quilt-like landscape with trees, cities and rivers. -
A Vision of Growth
As part of Groundswell’s Summer Leadership Institute (SLI) 2008, artists Alex Pimienta and Jessica Poplawski worked with a team of youth to create a colorful mural celebrating the people, changing communities, and future of Coney Island. -
BRC Mosaic
Through Groundswells Segue program, juvenile offenders worked with artist Jess Poplawski to create a mosaic for the entryway of Casa de los Vecinos, a transitional housing residence for individuals living with mental illness. -
Birds of Soluna
Birds of Soluna is an extension to a previous Groundswell mosaic installed on the outer faade of BRCs Casa de los Vecinos transitional housing residence for individuals living with mental illness. -
The Privilege of History
Lead Artist Bayunga Kialeuka oversaw a group of youth in the creation of The Privilege of History, a mural on two walls of Law Studies High School. -
The Perfect Equilibrium of Nature
"The Perfect Equilibrium of Nature" was created in partnership with Tillary Park Foundation, Councilmember Letitia James, and The Urban Assembly School of Music and Art. The goal of the project was to illustrate modern life in developing Brooklyn communities -
Family Totems
“Family Totems” was created by groups of students at The Urban Assembly School of Music and Art and their parents. The parents and children studied animal symbolism and imagery at the Brooklyn Museum of Art and then created an animal symbol, or totem, to represent their families. -
Nonviolence
Nonviolence was created in partnership with Inwood Houses Youth-for-R.E.A.L. afterschool program and the Community Change Institute. The students used a variety of media to grapple with a complex issue that directly impacts their community — violence.
