Young people are often expected to claim their own spaces, yet societal systems actively work against them. Often staying invisible is easier. Claiming space takes bravery, openness, and support. Often times, finding belonging within that space allows youth and their peers to thrive in their fullest forms.
In the murals projects below, Madison youth are sharing their experiences and voices while gaining skills and connections under a facilitated free-form model that focuses on building a relationship, allowing room for ideas to grow, and being ready for teens to take leadership roles at different points of the process. While all mural projects are collaborative and offer a large platform of unified voice, each project has a unique story and output due to being facilitated by a different teaching artist and being designed and created by the youth involved in the program or space at any given time.
Madison Public Library is committed to resourcing teens in an effort to meet their intellectual and creative needs while making space for their voices to be heard.
"WE WISH YOU KNEW" by Maria Schirmer and teenagers @ Dane County Juvenile Detention Center (Winter 2023-2024)
"BOLLARDS" by Jerry Butler and teenagers @ Youth Justice & Prevention (Summer 2023)
"BLOOM" by Audifax and teenagers @ Youth Justice & Prevention (Spring 2023)
"THE FIRST STEP" by Maria Schirmer Devitt, Savannah Starlin, Christina Theobald and students @ Dane County Juvenile Detention Center (Winter 2022-2023)
"METRO PANTHERS" x 4 by Audifax and students @ Dane County Jail, Juvenile Detention Center, and Juvenile Court Shelter Home (Fall 2021 - Fall 2022)
"WAVES OF CHANGE" by Sara Jordan, Gabrielle Javier-Cerulli and students @ Juvenile Court Shelter Home (Fall 2021)
"I BELONG" by Audifax and students @ Juvenile Court Shelter Home (Summer 2021)
"CROWNS IN CHAOS" by Shiloah Coley and youth in the Deary Diary program (Summer 2021)
"OPEN THE SKY" by Audifax and students @ Juvenile Court Shelter Home (Spring 2021)
"DRIVEWAY MURAL" by Emida Roller, Shiloah Coley and students @ Juvenile Court Shelter Home (Summer 2020)
"LOVE IS LEGACY" by Audifax and students at Akira Toki Middle School (Winter 2020)
"INTAKE ROOM MURAL" by Jerry Butler and students @ Juvenile Detention Center (Winter 2019-2020)
"LOOK WITHIN" by Audifax and students @ Juvenile Detention Center (Spring 2019)
"FOOD EXPLORED" by Peter Krsko and students @ Juvenile Court Shelter Home (Spring 2019)
"MADISON MURAL ALLEY" by 5 Artists and 5 Teen Groups in East Madison (Spring & Summer 2018)
"INTAKE HALL MURAL" by Carlos Gacharna and students @ Juvenile Reception Center (Spring 2018)
"RISE" by Lesley Anne Numbers and students @ Juvenile Detention Center (Summer 2017)
"THE WELL OF BEING" by Chris Maddox and students @ Juvenile Detention Center (Spring 2017)
"CLASSROOM MURAL" by Carlos Gacharna and students @ Juvenile Court Shelter Home (Spring 2017)
"SUNNY HORIZONS" by Rodrigo Carapia and students @ Juvenile Detention Center (Winter 2016-2017)
"WELCOME" by Rodrigo Carapia and students @ Juvenile Court Shelter Home (Winter 2015-2016)
"PEACE PANELS" by Rodrigo Carapia and students @ Juvenile Detention Center (Fall 2015)
"MURAL DESIGN 101" by Rodrigo Carapia and teens @ Goodman South Madison Library (Summer 2015)
"SCREEN PRINTING MURAL COLLAGE" by Lance Owens and teens at Goodman South Madison Library (Summer 2013)
"MOVIE COVERS" by Jesse Vieau and teens @ Goodman South Madison Library (Spring & Fall 2012)
"BOOK COVERS" by Jesse Vieau and teens @ Goodman South Madison Library (Spring & Fall 2011)
