BALTIMORE — Baltimore is a city of murals and a new one is up along York Road in North Baltimore that was created in collaboration with a summer youth program.
This mural is on the corner of York and Ready Lane in the Govans neighborhood. It's titled "Elevate" and features two hands holding a heart, a dove holding an olive branch and the cityscape in the background.
Nine students through the Art@Work summer program collaborated with the community to come up with the design and concept for the mural.
The York Road Initiative (YRI) partners with the Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts (BOPA) and the city's Youthworks program to help fund Art@Work.
During the five-week program, the students work together to come up with ideas and concepts for the mural. Then they do interviews with neighbors and community leaders about what they would like to see.
"People in the community want to show that they are together, they love each other and they’re yearning for peace in the neighborhood," said Iandry Randriamandroso, the lead artist for the project.
16-year-old Asia Robinson is one of the students who worked on the mural. She said she's learned a lot of skills through this project and not just how to paint a mural on the side of a building.
"I’ve learned a lot of social skills and I’ve met a lot of people and it was really fun to learn about a community where I’m not from," she said. "Personally, I’m not involved in my community but this makes me want to be involved in mine."
YRI is holding a public unveiling of the mural on Friday August 11 at 6 p.m. The mural is located at 4601 York Road.
