Urban Decay Revitalization

RiverzEdge Arts Project is a youth development program giving educationally and economically disenfranchised youth (ages 12-24) in northern Rhode Island paid employment in the arts and a voice in the community. Based in Woonsocket, one of RI's poorest cities, RiverzEdge engages teens in a lifestyle of creative expression, disciplined effort, and economic self-reliance.

The Urban Decay Revitalization project will challenge RiverzEdge participants to examine the relationship between aesthetics/beautification, property value, and the economic state of their community. Participants in the RiverzEdge Graphic Design Studio will be asked to respond to the high rate of foreclosures and abandoned property by depicting what “home” means to them, through illustrations and text, using graphic design software such as Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign. With the assistance of youth in the Visual Arts and Screen-Print studios, the Design participants will then paint or print their designs onto the plywood sheets covering the windows and doors of foreclosed homes in their neighborhood.

Classroom Lessons and Activities:
--How other cities have used beautification techniques to alter the property value of abandoned homes.
--Designing for Large Scale images and translating Mural-design into graphic design principles.
--Creative expression and the diversity of images and meaning of “Home” in Woonsocket, RI.
--Considering audience in the process of working through Creative Selection – choosing images to use for public display.