Out Now Community Murals

In September 2021, Common Wealth Murals collaborated with Out Now, the only queer youth organization based in Springfield, on a new mural installed on the corner of Gridiron and Main Streets.

Out Now is a 22 and under, youth led, adult advised, queer youth organization that works to promote harm reduction, self-determination, and community building through anti-oppression organizing. The organization works toward individual and collective liberation at home, in schools, and throughout society.

The muralist for this project was Mimi Ditkoff, who completed the Community Mural Institute during Fresh Paint Springfield 2021. Ditkoff said, “Youth are the voice of the next generation, yet they are not given the platform to express themselves and their voices within education. Queer youth, youth of color, and differently abled youth, are not usually given the support they need to be successful in school. This mural represents a dichotomy between the reality of education today, and a radical imagination of where it could be. The imagery is representative of the experiences and needs brought up by the Out Now youth during our workshop. We need to start centering, amplifying, and supporting the voices and needs of our young people. They are the future.”

According to Holly Richardson, Director of Out Now, “The resulting mural is beyond my expectation. Mimi is a brilliant artist, teacher, and listener. She has the unique skill of being able to transform a process of individual, verbal, storytelling into a collective, visual experience. The Out Now community is proud to share this with everyone!”

Elithia Vazquez-Crescentini, an Out Now Youth Worker, said, “I loved the whole process so much. The workshop with Mimi was powerful and helped us all think deeply about our school experiences. She then made this into art, telling our ‘true’ stories of pain and hope.”