By Joe Jarosz
Northeast News
October 7, 2015

KANSAS CITY, Missouri — Kansas City art is getting on the MAP.

Last week, a celebratory reception was held for the completion of the two latest murals in the Mural Arts Program Inspiring Transformation [MAPIT] project. The murals can be found at Grove Park, Benton Boulevard and Truman Road, and the Athletic Fields at Ninth and Van Brunt, as well as other locations around the city.

MAPIT is an innovative, hands-on mural program based on the belief that art has the power to serve as an agent for positive personal development and social growth. The program grew out of an anti-graffiti initiative started by Kansas City City Council member Scott Wagner two years ago. The project is designed as a partnership program, providing opportunities for a range of organizations and individuals to participate and collaborate in the creative process. MAPIT is funded by the Public Improvements Advisory Committee and Kansas City Power & Light.

Working with young people from low income communities in Kansas City, Wagner said the program transforms neighborhoods and preserved property by implementing cooperative educational art projects. The program provides direct personal and professional development experiences by working with a lead artist through research, concept development, design, and implementation of innovative community murals. Through the process, young people are able to learn about creativity and the value of art and design, they also develop improved social skills and learn a number of relevant business practices.

“The idea behind this program is for the city’s youth to apply themselves and obtain the necessary skills to successful futures,” Wagner told the crowd at the celebration.

At the celebration, the artists were on hand to explain their murals. José Faus, lead artist for the mural at Athletic Fields Park, said the image of two couples serves as an anchor for the surrounding community. Hector Casanova, lead artist for the mural at Grove Park, said his concept came from the idea that people aren’t aware the Midwest used to be underwater 65 million years ago.

“We wanted an ocean theme that could also educate families,” Casanova said, adding the to-scale image of three dinosaurs — Plesiosaurs, Dolichorhynchops, and the Elasmosaurus — were all native to the Kansas City area. “Also, it’s always really fun to paint giant dinosaurs.”

The two artists added they couldn’t have done these projects without their youth apprentices by their sides. Casanova said he corralled several students from his class at the Kansas City Art Institute, while Faus noted that his apprentices were from the Northeast area.

“I bounced ideas off them and they became really involved in the project,” Faus said.

“Their second pair of hands and second pair of eyes were pertinent to the project,” Casanova said.

Wagner said his hope for the program over the next couple of years is to see the private sector become more involved, either through donations of funds or buildings for artists to paint on.

“The involvement of private property is just as important, if not more so, as the use of public property,” Wagner said.