The Making of the Altgeld Gardens Mural

For six weeks over the summer, a group of twenty-five CHA FamilyWorks students came together in a stuffy gym to create a thirty-two by eight foot mural. The group consisted of youth ages seventeen to twenty-one who are residents of Altgeld Gardens and were participating in Chicago's Youth Ready program. Artist Kevin Luthardt, the director of the project, ensured the students were involved with each step of the creative process: priming the boards, brainstorming the themes and specific visuals that would be a part of the mural design, designing the final image, transferring the image onto the boards, painting the mural, sanding the edges of the boards, and putting the final protective coating over the mural. Kevin encouraged the group to come up with a theme and design for the mural that reflected upon them personally, their community as a whole and beyond. He accomplished this by challenging the students to think about what story they wanted to communicate visually to people of all ages and walks of life who would be viewing this image in the weeks, months, and years to come. The group focused on ideas that centered on the importance of family, community, upward mobility, and striving for success. One specific visual concept that kept recurring in their discussion was the idea of darkness and light or night and day; which lead to the mural's title, "Moving towards a brighter future". As one scans the completed image of the mural, you will see this theme reflected in the design.

Working with such a large group was an interesting challenge for project director Kevin Luthardt. Group dynamics began to appear almost immediately; students who were determined workers and leaders emerged first. There were others who were reluctant at the beginning, but who worked hard when asked and became more involved as the project unfolded. The spectrum of artistic and creative skill levels in the group also played into the challenge of the project. Since most of the students had never worked on a large project like this, it was difficult for them to envision the final product at first. Kevin encouraged the group to follow through and stick with the project until the end. He promised them that they would be amazed and proud of what they could create and accomplish together. Today, Kevin believes that the promise was fulfilled! The end result is a beautiful, colorful story of hope to inspire these students and their community every day.

The mural was officially unveiled to the Altgeld Gardens community on Wednesday, September 29, 2010 and is located in the Altgeld Community Center.