Through a series of projects focused on addressing trauma, cultivating wellness, and strengthening community by building connection and understanding, KWI’s community-led, participatory approach to public art foster space for reflection and consensus-building to support a broad concept of community wellness.

The initiative asks residents to reflect on what made their community the place they chose to live, encourages them to share how the current challenges have affected them, and urges them to think about what a better future would look like. Acknowledging their shared trauma encourages connection that is then strengthened by working on art together.

The initiative’s highlights include Our Story of Us, a crowd-sourced poem that weaves together reflections on neighborhood life; a community-building board game that showcases residents’ common bonds and helps spark conversations; and a gathering space where art is created and at-risk populations are fortified. As part of this initiative, artists Gabe Tiberino and DISTORT designed and installed a mural entitled Reaching Out (3221 Kensington Ave), and Ann Northrup’s beloved Heart of Kensington will be restored. Brightly-painted newspaper boxes scattered throughout the area bring a much-needed pop of color to the neighborhood and hold critical public health information and resource lists.