We couldn’t be more proud of BCL14 students and the public event they hosted on May 14th to unveil our mural, “Hands of Hope: One Community” on Church Street! The party featured delicious food, great music courtesy of DJ Harper Kenney, and live screen printing provided by Brittany Mae, our artist-in-residence. So many members of our community showed up to celebrate – from city leaders, to BHS administrators, teachers, and students, to parents, siblings, and friends. The city estimates that there were over 200 attendees! 

The mural is a visual culmination of the learning students have experienced this semester as they sought answers to BCL’s essential question, what does it take for a community to thrive? Over the past few months, and alongside dozens of community partners, students have explored sustainability, values-based businesses, third spaces, the housing crisis, urban planning, logos and branding, and the role of public art in fueling social change. The mural, a testament to the ideas of community care and belonging, will remain on Church Street until it moves to the new high school in the fall of 2026.

Check out NBC5’s coverage of the event here, WCAX’s coverage here, and to read students’ reflections on the mural project and see photos of the art process, check out the Burlington City & Lake’s blog.

Opening Reception: Friday, January 24, 5-7 pm

Exhibition from Friday, January 24, 2025 – Saturday, February 1, 2025

BCA Center – Second Floor

Join us at BCA to support our students in their upcoming exhibition, Becoming / Vermont!

Becoming / Vermont features approximately 40 works by teen artists from the greater Burlington area. It is the culmination of Burlington City Arts’ Fall 2024 Artist-in-Residence project with current and previous exhibiting BCA artists including ArtLords, Michelle Im, and Sarah Stefana Smith. Through a series of three brief residencies, high school students explored processes such as hand-building, weaving, and mural painting.

Becoming / Vermont utilizes artmaking and creative expression to explore personal and collective identity during a pivotal period of development in young adults as they search to define who they are and their place in the world. Student artists were encouraged to take risks and connect ideas with materials, as they experimented with new creative processes through projects inspired and led by artists-in-residence. Featuring painting, ceramics, textiles, jewelry, audio, and assorted mixed media, Becoming / Vermont is as impressive as it is expressive of a pivotal moment in time for young adults defined by growth and self-creation. 

Becoming / Vermont is a collaboration between BCA and two community partners, Burlington Technical Center and Burlington High School, and is supported in part by the Maslow Family Foundation and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. Burlington City Arts is supported in part by the Vermont Arts Council & the National Endowment for the Arts. 

Check out the BCA website for more information!