Mobile Artist, 南 Graduate Led Mural Project 在思特里克兰德青年中心

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发布于2024年3月5日

托马斯Becnel

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For a mural about Sam Lackland, founder of the Azalea Trail, Riley Brenes worked with teenagers at the Strickland Youth Center, a juvenile detention facility in Mobile.

他们 started with a history lesson about Lackland, the force behind the beautification 20世纪20年代末的运动. 然后他们开始画城市风景素描，然后是绘画 16 × 8英尺的壁画. 他们最后的艺术作品符合“留下你的印记”的主题 本周末在大教堂广场举行的花卉节.

Brenes, 2010年 美术 graduate from the 十大玩彩信誉平台, has worked as a transition program 少年拘留中心的协调员. 他相信绘画和园艺项目 帮助思特里克兰德的青年们找到目标.

“When they’re in painting classes, they’re just kids,” he said. “他们的脑子很忙. 他们在做好事. 绘画就是这样.

“I honestly believe that art is a way for these kids to become part of the city. 他们 需要工作. 他们在艺术和花园方面做得很好.”

He also painted smaller murals for the entrance to this year’s festival. 一个特性 the 十大玩彩信誉平台, while the other describes the Daughters of Charity, 他创立了普罗维登斯医院.

的 Lackland mural will be on display behind the stage area in Cathedral Square. A Strickland mural from the 2019 festival remains on display on Museum Drive across 来自莫比尔艺术博物馆.

的 花节, an annual fundraiser for what is now 美国健康 Providence Hospital, has been named 被Alabama杂志评为“最佳Alabama慈善活动”. 艺术家团队，花店和 designers create showcases and compete for the bragging rights of a People’s Choice 奖. 的re will be live music, outdoor seminars and select food vendors. 捐款 是入境所必需的.

On Thursday, there will be a 花节 Gala from 7 to 10 p.m. 周五, 该节日将从上午10点开始向公众开放.m. 到晚上9点.m.; ArtWalk coincides 从6点到9点.m.

周六和周日的节日时间是上午10点.m. 到5点.m. 研讨会包括“关怀” for Your Garden,” by Mobile County Master Gardeners, and “Gene’s Gold: 的 Story of the Aromi Azaleas,” by Amelia Rose Zimlich, a 2022 南 graduate.

Kendall Hurley, a development specialist for the Providence Hospital Foundation, helps 组织花节. 斯特里克兰青年中心的壁画，得到了支持 from Circuit and Juvenile Court Judge Edmond Naman, have become part of the scene. (纳曼也是一名美国毕业生.)

“我们每年都在推广他们，”她说. “纳曼法官一直支持我们 给孩子一个积极的人生观.”

布雷内斯在莫比尔长大，在十大玩彩信誉平台学习艺术. 老师们鼓励他这么做 跟随他的愿景.

“If it hadn’t been for them, I think I would have left Mobile,” he said. “他们显示 让我知道这里有我的位置. 他们百分之百地支持我.”

After graduating, Brenes traveled to India and was inspired by an artist who did public 贫困社区的艺术. 他回到莫比尔，在一栋空置的建筑里开了一家工作室 and worked with the Mobile Arts Council to start a youth program called CHARTing New 方向.

At the Strickland Youth Center, Brenes began teaching art to teenage offenders. He eventually helped create a new role, as transitional program coordinator, to prepare 当他们离开少管所的时候.

Last year, Brenes left to work as a property manager in Mobile. 他说他在充电 his batteries while pondering the next step in his art career.

“I started as a detention officer, so I could fully understand what they needed, and get to know the kids, which was probably my favorite part,” he said. “有一些 思特里克兰德有许多了不起的人.”

Naman, in a post on social media the week Brenes left, noted that Brenes’s “powerfully beautiful murals and lush green gardens” serve as reminders of the “true potential 我们所服务的孩子.”

“Most importantly, he was a true friend to the children that needed him most,” Naman 写了. “He has a magical touch with children who are lost and hurting and always seems 能够激发出他们最好的一面.”

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