Girls Inc. Fence

FULL COVERAGE MURAL

 

The Girls Inc. of Greater Indianapolis hired me to create a fence mural that tells the story of helping all girls become strong, smart, and bold

Setting the Mood

In order to get to know Girls Inc. of Greater Indianapolis I met with staff and youth who participate in the programs. We had several brainstorming sessions so I could hear directly from them what the organization is all about. It’s a powerful nonprofit that works with girls age 5-24 through a wide variety of programming in and outside of school. There is a focus on STEM skills as well as bringing the girls in contact with a wide array of career opportunities.

Following our conversations, I created a mood board that showed a variety of inspiration ideas. These existing images act as a visual “menu” of sorts. Stakeholders can easily communicate which images they like and don’t like. This stage is incredibly helpful before jumping into original design ideas.

Design Process

Capturing the many elements of what Girls Inc. does proved challenging. I found an emphasis on highschool graduation and post secondary education as an important marker of success. There is a range of girls represented with younger girls on the left and graduates and professionals on the right. To represent Indianapolis I depicted the Circle Monument as a pencil obelisk on top of a paint palette. Other downtown buildings are represented by school supplies. There is a girl confidently walking up a staircase made of books entitled STRONG, SMART, and BOLD since those are the characteristics Girls Inc. instills. Many of the careers depicted came from girls saying what they wanted to be.

Painting Process

To include the community, I created a paint by number setup and almost forty community members came out to paint the mural! They worked diligently and then I finished the details.

A group of children and adults painting a mural on a wooden fence outdoors during daytime. The mural features colorful abstract designs and shapes.
Several people are painting a mural on a wooden fence during an outdoor community event. Some are sitting or kneeling while painting colorful elements, with a crowd gathered along the fence.
A young girl with braided hair, wearing a tie-dye shirt and pink shorts, is painting a mural on a wooden fence. The mural features stylized figures, one with a red and black outfit and another in white with a yellow sleeve, set against a background of purple and red. The girl holds a paintbrush and a small container of paint.
Woman painting a colorful mural of diverse people on a wooden fence, with some figures wearing masks and traditional clothing.
Person painting the word 'SMART' in white on a red book spine
Colorful mural on a wooden fence featuring a woman in sunglasses holding a basketball, a child meditating inside a path of black stepping stones, and various art supplies and buildings in a vibrant cityscape background.
Colorful mural on a wooden fence with illustrations of girls, books, a basketball, a ballot box, and motivational words like 'BOLD,' 'SMART,' 'STRONG.' The mural promotes girls' empowerment in Indianapolis.