"Perservere," By Muraleslian, 2022

Pictured in the mural are two YouthBuild students, Iggy and Rahim and two YouthBuild instructors. Youth Build offers a second chance for youth and young adults to finish their high school education and learn a trade while earning a stipend and on the job training. Youth Build students worked with Lian to choose the word “Persevere,” shown as a tattoo on Iggy’s arm, as the theme of for mural about their work in the program.

“My artwork takes a critical view of social, political and cultural issues while celebrating struggle and mutual aid. Having engaged subjects as diverse as the refugee crisis, prisoner aid and feminist solidarity, my murals utilize familiar visual images, arranging them into new conceptually layered murals.

The goal of my artwork is to be part of the public sphere, to promote public discourse and make the community's voice heard.

I grew up in East Bridgewater, MA and I have been living in Spain for 20 years. The message of this mural is resilience, personal responsibility and community leading to a better future.” - muraleslian

IG: @muraleslian