Every participant gets a job and a paintbrush
Youth research and select the issue, work with subject-matter experts to understand it, then take on a real role — ambassador, coordinator, fundraiser, scout — with visible responsibility.
Walls a neighborhood chose for itself
Every one of these was designed and painted by young people who live within walking distance of it, working alongside a professional artist.
Where the work is
Every project on this page, plotted
8 sites plotted, from the list below
380+ projects since 1989, as reported in CITYarts' FY26 grant filings
Shakespeare Stairs — Bronx, NYCPeace Wall — New Haven, CTAlways in Bloom — Manhattan, NYCPeace Wall — Harlem, NYwith Peter Sís, with youth and community leadersPeace Wall — Tel Aviv–JaffaPeace Wall — Berlin, Germany112 Prince St Mural — SoHo, NYCRolling Bench Mosaic — General Grant Memorial
380+projectscompleted since 1989as reported in CITYarts' FY26 grant filings
100,000+youthhave made work with CITYartsas reported by CITYarts across four organizational documents
600+artistsprofessional artists collaborated withas reported in CITYarts' Organizational History
80%+of participantsfrom underserved BIPOC communities or economically disadvantagedas reported in CITYarts' FY26 grant filings
Those numbers are made of gallons of paint, boxes of pencils and tiles. Pick one.
Give nowIn their words
The part that does not fit on a wall
The artist did not just teach us to paint. He taught us to live together, to work together, and help one another.Jennifer, age 14
CITYarts gave me purpose to come to school because I wanted to finish my creation.Mike, age 14
I've learned how to mix colors and how specific colors can have such a huge impact. It's taught me how to work with other people.Nicassey, age 16
How it works
Three things that happen on every project
Art becomes the conversation where words are not enough
A mural or a mosaic says what words may not be able to convey. It sparks dialogue locally between youth and neighbors — and globally, where murals on opposite sides of the world speak to the same theme.
A sustained practice, not a one-off
Not a single workshop or a single grant cycle — a sustained creative practice, project by project, that changes a young person's trajectory and leaves a lasting mark on their community.
Where the money goes
A gallon of paint is forty square feet of wall.
Choose what you want to buy. It takes two taps — no account, no redirect, and you never leave this page.
Make it monthly — a mural takes a season, not an afternoon.
Take action
Six ways in
Meet the Founder
When kids create, they don't destroy — they inspire us all.
They transform blank walls into beacons of hope, neglected spaces into vibrant landmarks, and their own futures into new possibilities.
Tsipi Ben-HaimFounder, Executive & Creative Director
CITYarts' archives are held by the New-York Historical Society. Tsipi is an honorary member of Delta Kappa Gamma and a contributor to the Global Partnerships Forum's book on the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Join us. Invest in their imagination. Dare to make a difference.
Hear more from TsipiNot ready to give today?
Leave a way to reach you.
A mural takes a season. We will tell you when this one is finished, and we will not sell your address to anyone, ever.