City Repair: Intersection Repair Mural Design (~2011)

After all these years as a designer, I believe this project is what I am most proud of.

In 2011 I moved to a neighborhood in south Portland that was the birthplace of the nonprofit I was volunteering with. They had pioneered a form of activism called Intersection Repair. The idea was to use a bold mural on an intersection as a manifesto for community and as a catalyst for neighborhood improvement and empowerment.

This specific neighborhood has been reenvisioning and repainting their intersection since 1997 (picture attached).

I participated in their yearly community process to reimagine their intersection and got the opportunity to synthesize their discussions into a design that was eventually painted by the community and visiting volunteers.

That year, the group had gathered around a sentiment expressed by a young girl in the community (also pictured). She was reflecting on how her intersection has been like a flower, spreading seeds of change across the city. I used that concept for the inspiration of the design. After it was painted, many neighbors painted little dandelion puffs on the sidewalks outside their own homes.