Zeesy Powers incorporated a collage of photos from local youth into the Fallstaff artwork.
Developing tomorrow’s professionals
UrbanArts’ participants completed the wrap installations within three weeks of each other.
“They worked tirelessly to apply more than 177 m2 (1,900 sf) of vinyl by the deadline of October 1,” says Iacobelli. “This was a great community project. It was fantastic to see what young minds could do to these brick-wall canvases.”
Since the mural installations, one of the youth who worked on both buildings has indeed continued to help AIP in a professional context, i.e. getting paid to work on its job sites.
“We are so busy in the graphics industry, we sometimes forget how it is driven by creative people and their unique way of looking at the world,” says Iacobelli. “All of these kids can now point to their real-world experience.”
And in helping young people gain relevant skills, both 3M and AIP are aiming to ensure the sign and graphics industry will benefit from a new generation of employees.
“Our business suffers from having a relatively low profile within the greater economy, with few young people aware of the opportunity to join it,” says Uzbalis. “As a result, the industry is underserved. Projects like this can help change that.”
With files from AIP Media and 3M Canada. For more information, visit www.aip-media.com and www.3mgraphics.ca.
