CLEVELAND — A new mural that reflects the "diversity and growing vitality" of the Buckeye neighborhood has brightened up the side of a building in the Cleveland neighborhood, according to organizers with CollectivExpress.
The “Me and My Community” mural, displayed on Shaker Square Towers at 2825 East 130th Street in Cleveland, is one of the largest outdoor art installations in the neighborhood.
The nonprofit Organize Ohio! commissioned the mural through a partnership with CollectivExpress, a Cleveland-based organization.
In the early stages of the project, eight young artists from Harvey Rice Middle School and Holy Grove Missionary Baptist Church collaborated with CollectivExpress founder Josiah Britt, and muralists Lauren Pearce and Brandon Graves.
Through various creative sessions, the youth participants created a mural concept that incorporated landmarks of the Buckeye neighborhood, while incorporating what community means to them.
“Our Young Scholars jumped with excitement when they were asked to participate in this highly collaborative experience. Our Wrap-around Coordinator, Bonita Henderson, worked with all the young participants to obtain 100 percent attendance at six two-hour workshops,” said Mr. Jason Tidmore, Principal, Harvey Rice K-8 School. “There they explored artistic design techniques and worked with the artistic team to establish a theme and ways to express the theme."
The mural, spanning across 2,725 feet of the Shaker Square Towers, is a must-see in person.
"As a pastor, my church congregation and I have been involved with the E. 130th community for years. We are thrilled that youth from Holy Grove have been involved from initiation to completion in the development of this grand mural. We are proud that these young people's names will be engraved for a life-time on the mural. It's a transformative experience,” said Reverend Ian Cox, Pastor of Holy Grove Missionary Baptist Church.
The work of muralists Pearce can be seen throughout Cleveland, including the most recent one in the Playhouse Square District, and Graves, whose work can be also seen across the city, including in the Hough Community Center and on electrical boxes.
RELATED: Browns star Myles Garrett honors late grandmother in latest mural at Playhouse Square
Download the News 5 Cleveland app now for more stories from us, plus alerts on major news, the latest weather forecast, traffic information and much more. Download now on your Apple device here, and your Android device here.
You can also catch News 5 Cleveland on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, YouTube TV, DIRECTV NOW, Hulu Live and more. We're also on Amazon Alexa devices. Learn more about our streaming options here.
