“I’m Listening” was a project started by the art empowerment non-profit Cincy ARTE to bring young people around Cincinnati together with police officers in order to have discussions, share ideas and thoughts, receive positive influences, and most importantly, enjoy a space of unity and community. During our discussions over the course of a few months, we shared food, told stories, asked questions, and together we painted a 20’ by 20’ portable mural. This mural was split into 4’ x 4’ canvases and completed piece by piece at 5 different locations in each of the police districts in Cincinnati. 

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      The location that I was primarily responsible for was at the Reds Youth Academy in Roselawn. My job was as a Lead Artist, facilitating mostly the painting aspect of it, as well as engagement and conversation. Over time our project expanded to have a really broad reach, bringing in people of all ages. From kids from different schools, group homes, and sports teams, to family, friends, and coworkers. Most importantly, we had multiple police officers participate which fostered the conversation and relationship building that we were hoping for.