Cargo Container Mural
Community Garden
A multi-year project working with the Eleventh Street Bridge Park, University of Columbia’s Urban Agricultural department, and residents from Ward 7 and 8 in Washington, DC, to help build community relationships, promote civic engagement, and connect health and nutritional education through the arts. The public art projects, located at six urban garden sites, helped revitalize underutilized communal outdoor spaces, engage residents, and promote healthy lifestyles infused with nature.
In preparation for the collaborative garden art projects held East of the River, ArtReach conducted a series of interviews and preparatory conversations with residents to gather information, interests and encourage participation. During the interviews residents discussed a lack of healthy food options in their neighborhood, a lack of interactive public space, and highlighted the benefit of the garden on the surrounding community.
Environmental Sustainability and Social Justice
Using art as a tool for social change, ArtReach worked with community members from Ward 8 to create large-scale collaborative murals in a pop up urban garden, fostering a dialogue around food security.
The mural design was informed by members of Union Temple, an Afrocentric Baptist Church, who selected garden-inspired Adinkra symbols and Kente patterns. The bright colors and symbolic patterns attracted community residents and became a conversation hub with new paths, areas for rest and observation, and a space for story sharing.
Before and After
Community Paint Day
Residents from across the community joined together to design and paint a large-scale mural on two sides of a storage container.
