When New Haven artist Kwadwo Adae proposed painting a three-story mural of orchids on the side of a family shelter in New Haven, he wanted his art to be a part of the community that surrounded it.
During the final stages of painting, he measured out where he could reach and then left everything under that area blank.
Last Friday, kids staying at the shelter helped him finish the mural.
“Our society doesn’t allow kids to do a lot of things … kids want to help,” Adae said. “They want to have control over their environments. They want to be able to change their communities just as much as we do.”
Ryan Caron King joined Connecticut Public in 2015 as a reporter and video journalist. He was also one of eight reporters on the New England News Collaborative’s launch team, covering regional issues such as immigration, the environment, transportation, and the opioid epidemic.
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