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08/26/2010 08:28 PM

Young Brooklynites Put Finishing Touches On Summer Mural Project

By: Jeanine Ramirez

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Some Brooklyn blocks got a touch of color and creativity this summer thanks to a group of young residents who are looking to spread a positive message. NY1's Jeanine Ramirez filed the following report.

After spending the summer making their mark on the community, students were recognized Thursday for their colorful mural, which now stands on display on 54th Street in Sunset Park.

"Love it because now every time I pass by here, I can say I did that. It's something of mine," said student John Cepeda.

Cepeda and about a dozen others spent seven weeks working on the public art project made of ceramic tile. It was part of a paid job program for 80 students working with the nonprofit group Groundswell.

A total of five murals were created in different communities across Brooklyn this summer. Each has its own theme and dedication ceremonies will be held for each over the next few weeks. The Sunset Park mural titled "Roots of Knowledge" was made in collaboration with the Brooklyn Public Library.

"We're a place where people can come and spend as much or as little time as they have and really commit to a lifelong process of learning and that's what's communicated in this mural," said Linda Johnson of the Brooklyn Public Library.

Over in Red Hook, finishing touches are being done on a 30 foot by 75 foot mural which explores the legacy of human rights. The work is titled "Some Walls Are Invisible" and was painted by 15 young artists.

In Bedford-Stuyvesant, veterans are the focus of a mural painted on the headquarters for Black Veterans for Social Justice.

"We hope these kids walk away from this summer with a sense of what it's like to be involved in the completion of a very complicated project. We don't emphasize art skills as much as the skills of working together," said Rob Krulak of Groundswell Community Mural Project.

In Cypress Hills, there's an all-female project being completed. They explored issues of a consumer environment in a mural titled "Truth be Sold?" The work was commissioned by the Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation.

"In the mural we're trying to show how we've become bound to our things. It's an insatiable hunger because the next thing you buy, there's always going to be one better," said Lead Artist Katie Yamasaki.

"If you look around everywhere graffiti is growing rampant but here it is, these young ladies putting out a message that's positive," Mildred Keel-Williams of the Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation.

Both the students and organizers say they hope the murals' message will help transform the city's landscape.