The People’s History of Flatbush Junction

A team of youth artists from Midwood High School transformed an overpass with a mural representing Flatbushs history. Their mural design incorporated the experiences of students, who live in the community, and outlines the communitys history dating back to Native Americans and farmland. In addition to the individual experiences and research of local students, the history incorporated into the mural is based on the findings of Ron Schweiger, a historian for Kings County, who led the team on a walking tour around the neighborhood. To depict the changing nature of the Flatbush neighborhood over hundreds of years, The Peoples History of Flatbush Junction features a series of portraits that is a detailed rendition of a time period. Each portrait uses perspective, scale, proportion, and color to depict a composition that is visually informative, stimulating, and readable. Reading left to right through history, scenes include Flatbushs important histories through such eras as the American Revolutionary War, the industrial age, and contemporary times. The leftmost portrait is a figure looks out to the future and wears a high-tech spacesuit. All the faces together sewn by the river of time make up a pretty compelling mural of history and culture.