Art@Work Lets Youth Add Zest Around Pennsylvania Avenue
Summer is coming to an end for the teens at Art@Work Upton – or, at least, to the projects they have undertaken in a five-week apprenticeship in which they have created murals and mosaics in the Pennsylvania Avenue area.
Working out of Jublilee Arts, the cultural center at 1947 Pennsylvania Avenue, about 80 high school students are being paid through the city’s YouthWorks program. They have been teamed with eight artists to create public art, transforming an area that holds years of history and was once the mecca of black culture in Baltimore.
“You meet a lot of nice people. They teach you a lot of stuff for future references, and you meet a lot of different kinds of people around your neighborhoods that you probably never even saw before,” said Diamondnae Richardson, one of the young artists.
Their work may be seen at:
*Shake and Bake Family Fun Center, 1601 Pennsylvania Avenue
* The Avenue Market, both inside and outside, 1700 Pennsylvania Avenue
* Crazy Mart, a variety store, 1705 Pennsylvania Avenue
* Stores along the 1800-block of Pennsylvania
* Houses along the 1900-block of Division
* Etting Park at 1200 Wilson Street
* Eutaw-Marshburn Elementary School, 1624 Eutaw Place
The Art@Work program concludes July 29 with a free community celebration that includes a skating party, live performances and a trolley tour of the murals. Festivities will start at the Shake & Bake Family Fun Center, 1601 Pennsylvania Avenue, at 6 p.m.
