Over the course of a month, I worked on designing and painting a mural with United Way, a non-profit from my hometown, Charlottesville, Virginia. United Way brings people from all backgrounds together to create a stronger and more vibrant community, so of course I was super excited about this project! For this project, we worked on designing a data mural that would boost community engagement on issues like housing, education, and health. We wanted to make sure people felt hopeful when walking away, so we included a response wall for people to share their ideas. A big part of this project was encouraging people to take photos in front of the mural, so the keyhole of the lock is about the size of a person.

This project gave me so much joy! People that didn’t know me at all came to help me execute the painting process. That’s what it’s all about. The Charlottesville I know comes together when someone needs help. First, we have to acknowledge the issues before we work on solving them.