Brazos County juvenile center residents paint murals on skateboard ramps at College Station's Brian Bachmann Park

This podcast contains two interviews...with Brazos County juvenile services volunteer and mentor coordinator Cornelius Gray and with the CEO of the Arts Center of the Brazos Valley, Leslie Bowlin.Since 2008, the Arts Center of the Brazos Valley (ACBV) has led a summertime arts project involving teenagers who are residents at the Brazos County juvenile services center.This summer's project was painting murals on skateboard ramps at Brian Bachmann Park in College Station.Juvenile services volunteer and mentor coordinator Cornelius Gray has administered the project the last six years. He says 13 children between the ages from 14 to 16 spent two days a week for eight weeks at the park. He says for the children, this "definitely gives them a sense of pride knowing that they were part of creating art work in the community."Arts Center CEO Leslie Bowlin, who started with the agency just as last year's project was being completed, said for "kids having a hard time expressing themselves", "this sorta gives them another outlet and they can go look at a mural and say Wow I wonder what the artist was thinking or what does this mean or how do I see it."Bowlin hopes to expand the A.R.T (Art Reaching Teens) for Life program to the rest of ACBV's seven county service area.News release from the Arts Center of the Brazos Valley:This summer, a group of teens, led by artist LeAnn Hale of Purple Turtle Art Studio, brightened up the Brian Bachmann Community Park with a series of Roy Lichtenstein-inspired murals in the G. Hysmith Skate Park.A.R.T. (Art Reaching Teens) for Life began in 2008 and is a hands-on, artist-mentored initiative that provides youth in juvenile services the foundation for making better life choices and an opportunity to give back to the community through public art. Projects require patience, teamwork, and time, culminating in a physical representation of their dedication.A.R.T. for Life is organized by The Arts Center of Brazos Valley. This program is made possible through generous support from Brazos County, Brazos County Juvenile Service Department, Texas Commission on the Arts, and the City of College Station.Those interested in supporting the program should contact [email protected] or call (979) 696-2787. More information about A.R.T. for Life may be found at https://www.acbv.org/a-r-t-for-life/.