(Washington, DC) – Mayor Adrian Fenty along with Gloria Nauden, director of the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities (DCAH) and Joseph Walsh, director of the DC Department of Employment Services (DOES), today celebrated the completion of a mural in the Edgewood community of Northeast DC. Fifty youth in the Mayor’s Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) collaborated with world-renowned artists to create the mural.

“This is a great example of what the Summer Youth Employment Program offers the District,” said Mayor Fenty. “In creating the Edgewood mural, District youth gained meaningful work experience while making positive change in their community.”

The mural is DCAH’s first SYEP project to involve youth in the creation of public art. Fifty participants in the Mayor’s Summer Youth Employment Program were assigned to the DCAH and tasked with designing and completing the mural. The colorful mural, exceeding 4,000 square feet, expresses the multicultural nature of the District and is located in the parking lot of the Edgewood Shopping Plaza on 514 Rhode Island Avenue, NE. 

“The Commission was excited about working with so many talented artists, youth and community members to create this mural for the Edgewood neighborhood,” said Gloria Nauden, executive director of DCAH. “The mural not only provides a beautiful piece of art to this great community, but also shows what planning, hard work and teamwork can produce for the youth that have worked with us for the Mayor's Summer Youth Employment Program.”
 
During a series of artists’ workshops, DCAH’s youth workers developed themes for the mural, and painted the mural alongside local and national artists. Chor Boogie, Pose 2, Joshua Mays, Quest Skinner and Decoy are among the artists who contributed. Work on the mural began June 17, 2009 and was completed August 21, 2009.

"The project introduced District youth to the wide variety of career opportunities available in the arts," said Joseph Walsh, director of DOES. "This mural represents the hard work this summer by all the youth who participated in the Mayor's Summer Youth Employment Program, and why it is so important that we continue to cultivate their talent and give them opportunities to succeed."

The CAH hired Albus Cavus, a DC arts nonprofit, to support youth workers through the project.  Albus Cavus is currently writing an arts-based curriculum that DCAH will use for future arts education and SYEP programs.