Emanuel On Hand As High School Students Unveil New Mural
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Mayor Emanuel helped unveil a new mural in the Chatham neighborhood this afternoon painted by high school artists from the South Side, reports WBBM's Steve Miller.
It is a combination mosaic and spray-painted mural on the side of a Garrett Popcorn shop on 87th near Cottage Grove. The artists were students from Kenwood and Simeon academies.
Mayor Emanuel presided over the unveiling.
Emanuel On Hand As Students Unveil New Mural
"The impact of what they have done will live way beyond this painting. What you learn, the values, the contribution you make to the community and most importantly like all of us, as somebody who has done ballets and after-school programs, my own, done other types of activities after school, you learn more about yourself and what you can contribute then what were actually gonna see," said Emanuel.
One of the artists is 17-year-old Kyle Stewart who just graduated from Kenwood Academy.
"When we first mixed together, we just tried to stay apart as much as we can until it actually came the time that we had to come together. We started working with each other and we all just became friends. It was a great experience," said Stewart.
Dominique Heath, who's about to start at Bradley University, also worked on the mural.
"There's more to our community than just guns and violence. We have very artistic people here and I'm glad to share it with everybody in this community."
Most of the students we spoke with said they wanted careers in the art world.
16-year-old Joy Strong says she wants to be an architect - and she wants to go to college at the University of Seoul in South Korea.
