The Southwest Urban Arts Mural Project was started by Urban Neighborhood Initiatives(UNI) in 2007 as part of a neighborhood cleanup and beautification event which included mural painting in the alleys of Springwells. Since then, SUAMP has grown into a full-fledged youth employment and artistic development program, generating over 100 murals in this area and providing numerous youth with summer wo
rk experiences. In Springwells, like many other neighborhoods, often the youth are seen as causing problems in the community by engaging in activities such as tagging (graffiti). SUAMP seeks to change this view by involving youth in becoming part of the solution by applying the murals-a strategy which has proven to reduce graffiti. We have found that an overwhelming amount of residents are inspired by the murals SUAMP has created and express a desire for more murals to be implemented in the neighborhood. SUAMP organizes the community around the ideas of shared space and beauty as a right of each resident. Murals created by SUAMP are commissioned by residents or business owners who state the theme and approve preliminary designs, which are then executed by youth artists. The result of this work is a sense of pride in workmanship felt by youth artists, and pride in property felt by residents and business people SUAMP engages young people in making a significant and tangible improvement to the beauty of their Southwest Detroit community while at the same time developing skills and relationships that will help them build a positive future.
