Project Information
Google Map of Albany, NY

Location

883 Classon Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11225

Theme

Medium

Dimensions

8 x 24 ft

Year

2005

Funders

    None

Groundswell partnered with the Brooklyn Museum and the Brooklyn Academy of Science and the Environment (BASE) to create a mural for the elevator bay of the fifth floor of Prospect Heights High School. The mural, entitled BASE Family - An Environmental Partnership, was conceptualized, designed, and painted by ninth and tenth grade students. These students worked with Groundswell artists to bring their collective vision to life. The project began with a series of trips to the Brooklyn Museum to see a gallery talk and an exhibition of paintings by contemporary artist Kehinde Wiley. The students studied the process behind Wiley's portraits of African American men from the streets of Harlem in poses that reference classical Western portraits. Wiley's paintings inspired the students to use portraiture to represent unique aspects of their high school in the mural. As in Wiley's paintings, the background of the mural is filled with organic design motifs taken from art and architecture from around the world.