Mural Breaks Down Age Barriers

Kate Harkins, Southeast Senior Center

A youth participant proudly displays the design as work begins on the full-size mural.

Senior volunteers and youth filling in a section of the mural.

Youth 180 program participants apply artistic touches.

A sense of accomplishment from creating a masterpiece!

The mural reflects the rich diversity that makes this neighborhood so proud.

Recently, seniors and teens overcame doubts and stereotypes and worked together to create a mural about the lives and people of the Rainier Valley. The project allowed the two groups to listen to one another and compare realities of then and now. The result of their effort is now adorning the Southeast Senior Center at South Holly Street and Rainier Avenue. As you can see on the web page devoted to the Mural Project, the mural contains images of people from the valley who were important to both groups as well as general pictures of familiar landmarks and other faces of the general population.

The Mural Project started as a dream of Ruth Egger, former director of the Southeast Seattle Senior Center, and Gabriel Ladd, founder of Youth 180. The senior center hosts an array of programs for older adults so that they may stay connected to the resources and communities which help them thrive in their homes. Youth 180 is a program which gathers young men who are vulnerable to gangs and redirects them, or turns them around "180 degrees," toward more positive activities. Together, we partnered with Art Works, a program which offers mural painting as an alternative to juvenile detention.

Through this program we found Marcus Williams, a young artist who understands firsthand what some of the Youth 180 participants face. Together with the seniors from the center, Alvin Harris, a teacher from Seattle Public Schools, and young people from a community involvement program called Youth Ambassadors, we met to hear stories of the Rainier Valley "back in the day" and now.

With the help of Marcus and Artworks, we turned these stories into a mural that is meaningful to all of us and engages the neighborhood as well. Here are what some participants had to say:

"It was absolutely a wonderful experience to see teens and seniors get together and make this mural. I've always said that teens and seniors have a lot to offer each other."—Pat Vasquez, Southeast Seattle Senior Center member

"It was beautiful because we came together. The main thing was the relationships."—Anthony Lewis, Youth 180 Coordinator

"It's really a different experience. Everyone was on it. All races."—Kay Endo, Southeast Seattle Senior Center member

The Southeast Seattle Senior Center is located in the most ethnically diverse neighborhood in the nation. We are all proud of the mural, and the center plans to continue intergenerational projects as it looks to engage the community in the future. Come on down to Rainier and Holly and check it out!