information provided by south shore arts
MUNSTER, Ind. (April 19, 2021) – The South Shore Arts Teen Arts Board has finished its first public art project: an anti-racism mural.
First project
In September of 2018, the first ever meeting of the South Shore Arts Teen Arts Board took place. After over a year of planning and establishing group goals, the message of the group’s first public art project became clear in May 2020.
The Teen Arts Board decided that its first project would convey an anti-racism message and that a mural would be the best medium for expressing that message. After the group conducted initial research and planning, the Legacy Foundation granted the Teen Arts Board funding that would allow it to begin its work.
Collaborative process
Local artist Ish Muhammad was chosen as the collaborating artist for the project with the Teen Arts Board. Muhammad began meeting with the group virtually to discuss the process of creating a mural and to brainstorm ideas for their specific project. Over the course of two months, the group worked together with Muhammad to sketch ideas and to bring those ideas together in a cohesive composition for their painting. The group participated in every phase of the project, from planning to designing, preparing surfaces, detail painting, and sealing the finished work.
A message on the move
Now that the mural is complete, it is scheduled to be displayed at high schools in Hammond, Lowell, Merrillville, and in the downtown Hammond area. The members of the Teen Arts Board have begun the work of talking with teachers and school administrators to find exhibition space for this 8-foot by 16-foot work of art. Over the next year, the mural will be a traveling art piece, with the goal of displaying it in as many communities as possible, and eventually landing at a long-term home in Hammond.
The display locations for the mural will be shared on South Shore Arts’ Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter feeds. This project was made possible with generous support from the Legacy Foundation and with the expertise of artist Ish Muhammad.
South Shore Arts is located at 1040 Ridge Road, Munster, IN
