BYA Mural Project in Partnership with the Department of Juvenile Services
BYA partners with staff and residents at Department of Juvenile Services (DJS) facilities to design and create large-scale murals that reshape the spaces where young people live. Through collaborative art-making, youth and facility staff work side by side, building relationships, developing creative skills, and transforming facility environments.
Each project moves through three phases: arts engagement, collaborative mural concept development, and hands-on mural painting. Young people are involved in every step, from brainstorming ideas to putting paint on walls. But the finished mural is only part of the goal. The real work happens in the process — young people and the adults around them creating something together, building the kind of relationships that don't usually form inside a facility. That's what this project is designed to prove: that art can change not just a space, but how people relate to each other within it.
Baltimore City Juvenile Justice System - Visitation Room
More than 70 young people at the Baltimore City Juvenile Justice Center came together with facility staff to design and paint a large-scale mural centered on unity and growth. Led by artist Stanley Pearson, the project moved from workshops to the wall through weeks of collaboration. Youth and staff developed the concept, chose the imagery, and brought the piece to life alongside the adults who work in the building every day. The theme came directly from the young people themselves and reflects a shared belief in second chances, connection, and moving forward together. The first phase of the mural was such a success that the project was expanded to cover the entire visitation room — the space where young people reconnect with their families. That work is currently underway and nearing completion.
Western Maryland Children’s Center - B Pod
At the Western Maryland Children's Center, artist Elizabeth Miller worked with youth residing on one of the facility's pods to design and paint the doors to their own rooms. Each participant created a piece that was uniquely theirs, choosing the imagery, colors, and message, while knowing the art would stay after they left. Every door was painted not just for the person living there now, but for whoever comes next. The project gave participants a way to shape the space around them and leave something meaningful behind forfuture residents.
“Never let your past determine your outcome.”
“Don’t count the days, let the days count. Don’t trip on what’s behind you.”
“Aim for the stars, shoot for the moon.”
“Be creative”
