Often times one drives through a city and sees graffiti strewn on walls, sidewalks, buildings, and they feel as though they’ve entered a “bad part of town.” Gangs often times paint their symbols, protestors voice their opinions and onlookers see their art as destruction. And, granted, sometimes it is. But over the years and especially more recently graffiti has become a way to elicit a positive change in communities all around the world. Inspiration has branched from artists like Banksy and KASHINK whose anonymity provides boundless and creative platforms to make a statement through public art.

Well scrolling through my CNN app on my phone I came across an article titled, “Paint the Town Peaceful.” My immediate thought was “How does one go about doing that? How can painting carry that much weight?” The link led me to read about a town in Mexico called Las Palmitas, Pachuca, a town crippled by violence. This past month a youth organization that paints graffiti all over town teamed up with the Mexican Ministry of the Interior to paint 209 houses into a continuous colorful façade of murals. The project took around two and a half months. The event brought the community together to reflect on the accounts of violence that it faces every day and made community involvement the forefront of their project. In turn, the crime rate decreased and the town’s people were more at ease with their living situations, now vibrant and beaming with pride.

Las Palmitas is not the only project of the sort. Graffiti Heart was founded in 2013 in East Ohio. It is an organization that commissions graffiti artists to revitalize cities with their works that lead to charity finances for art education and urban development. Another area getting some graffiti rejuvenation is in a New York City Bronx borough. A project led by Project Futures funded a project where one can walk through painted walls dedicated to anti-trafficking activist Somaly Mam. It is now a safe space for others to voice their opinions on the tragic subject.

I can’t wait to explore how I can bring something like this to Memphis and make a change in a creative and fun way.