“Believe You Have a Voice” by Dustin Hunt and students // Summer 2021

122 South Grand Avenue // Lansing, Michigan

Approximately 60’ W X 30’ H // latex and spray paint

Muralmatics was honored to partner with Building Child and Family Initiatives in the Summer of 2021. BCFI has provided valuable services to Lansing students and families to support for thirty-five years. This project's aim was to introduce new programming to BCFI students that couples traditional mural making with contemporary street art while centering the students' experience in the process and the product. Students, grades 4th through 8th, were guided through team-building challenges, brainstorming and sketching sessions, warm-up activities, spray painting tutorials and more in the process of painting this mural. The final design includes patterns and ideas [cooking, dancing] taken from students sketches, along with students themselves. After observing the audience of the site [state workers, developers, politicians] , the location [next to the Capitol building], students workshopped what words to include in the mural and came up with “Believe you have a voice.”

We want to recognize the time and energy students and volunteers dedicated to this project. For two weeks they showed up ready to help, ready to support, ready to learn, and ready to paint. They swept up debris,  practiced their can control, joked around, played, danced, rolled base coats with bucket paint, and painted the wall. 

We want to recognize our teaching assistant, Mila Lynn, for bringing an upbeat, playful energy to the wall each and every day. Students warmed up quickly to Mila’s positive, creative vibes as she assisted in all aspects of the project. 

We want to recognize Kewpee’s Sandwich Shop for providing lunches during the day and the hands that prepared home-cooked dinners during the evening.

Additional support was provided by Downtown Lansing Inc.

Every mural takes many hands to complete. To all the hands involved in this project, thank you.

Thanks to McShane Photography and Miles Young Media for the photos.