For Pieces with Purpose’s Spring 2024 project, we worked with NYC nonprofits Groundswell and The GodSquad to create an anti-gun-violence mural which will soon be installed in I.S.285 Meyer-Eleven in Brooklyn, NY. 

 

Groundswell is a NYC-based organization that brings together youth, artists, and community organizations to implement art as a tool for social change in the pursuit of a more just and equitable world. Groundswell believes that art creates community and community creates change. 

 

The GodSquad serves as a liaison between police, community, and congregations, working to end gun violence. Guided by the belief that the welfare and safety of our diverse community is our shared responsibility, they use a holistic approach to help lower youth involvement in gun violence and build safer and more peaceful communities. 

 

In collaboration with both organizations, as well as the school, we were able to center gun violence—an issue prevalent in many New York communities today—in an optimistic, vibrant, and engaging way. 

 

As a special Pieces with Purpose project, our founder Chloe Ludwig helped to paint the mural for many weeks in Brooklyn, alongside lead artist Vincent Ballentine, Groundswell participants, and students of I.S. 285.