Voices Her’d
A New Day
Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, New York. 2005
As part of Groundswell’s Voices Her’d Visionaries program, a group of young women created A New Day through a series of discussions, writing, and art activities. Inspired by feminist history and leaders, the young women identified a mural theme of “Strong Women Build Safe Communities.”
In the mural, the figures stand proudly surrounded by waves and backed by a golden sky. Each wears a gown that depicts one of ten tenets of strong women building safe communities. This theme is illustrated through ten figures, each of which represents an individual member of the mural team.
From left to right across the first row and then the second, the tenets are: (1) high literacy and good schools; (2) involvement in and critical consumption of the media; (3) involvement in politics; (4) financial independence; (5) high employment and career alternatives; (6) parental supervision and involvement; (7) healthy bodies and foods; (8) honoring the ancestors; (9) after school programs; and (10) clean and livable streets.
Learn more at groundswellmural.org
Groundswell Community Mural Project: Voices Her’d
Yamasaki was lead artist for this series for about eight years. Voices Her’d creates a space for young women, in particular young women of color, to be the creators of the visual media about them. The girls in the group, ages 14-20 selected the topic they wanted to address and in many years, spent the year researching the topic and meeting with experts in the field. Then, for seven weeks in the summer, the created a large public mural that communicates their message about that topic.
2004 – I Deal, I Dream, I Do. Park Slope, Brooklyn
2005 – A New Day. Prospect Heights, Brooklyn
2006 – Feels Like Home: An Immigrant Journey. Sunset Park, Brooklyn
2007 – Art Builds Community, Community Creates Social Change. Park Slope, Brooklyn
2008 – Informed, Empowered. Sunset Park, Brooklyn
2009 – Woman Rise. Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn
2010 – Truth be Sold. 2836 Fulton Street. Cypress Hills, Brooklyn