County

The MLK Community Mural project reached out to more than just Allegheny County's youth. As part of a commitment to improve the lives of County residents at large, fifteen talented adult artists were sponsored in a unique program.

Unique because it offered a chance for these individuals to make a fresh start after leaving the Allegheny County Jail. The Jail, and its Oversight Commitee, had the vision to fund the program to give the budding artists training towards a viable skill, which in turn will decrease the recidivism rate back to jail. This benefits not only the artists, but the community at large.

The artists recieved valuable on the job training in site preparation, sketching and researching designs, creating proposals, scaling, color theory, and mosaics, to name a few. Their efforts culminated in a mosaic, led by Laura Jean McLaughlin, and three murals along the busway. The experience and enhancement to their portfolios will allow them to compete for future call for artists on their own.