The Mornignside / YMCA Mural is a large collaboration that I am so proud of. It began with an initiative to make a piece of public art with students from the Morningside Community School to be displayed on North St in Pittsfield, MA. The concept came easily, I have wanted to make a photographic mural, inspired by the French photographer and muralist JR, for quite some time now.
I teamed up with photographer Marina Dominguez and together we pitched the concept to the elementary students. I created a small booklet for each student, outlining our concept and provided lots of photos of JR’s murals. I gave the students space in the booklets to share their design ideas for the mural. We a returned couple weeks later to review the designs they shared in the booklets.
When it was time for the photoshoot we were shocked with the turn out. Initially anticipating a few dozen students, we were in awe of the 173 kids who showed up to participate. Each student shared a little bit with us. They showed us their best moves, their favorite dances, their beautiful smiles, and we did our best to capture their exuberance.
The next phase of the project was editing all their photos into the mural format. After months of planning, here was the moment we were waiting for. What would the mural look like? It took weeks to complete, and resulted in four panels, each 8ft x 11ft. I am so happy to share these playful portraits with everyone visiting our downtown. These students are a vibrant part of our community and their smiles bring us smiles.
