People are going to see the product, but I am going to remember what it took to make it. Teen Mural Artist, Community Youth Mural Project, City of Santa Fe, New Mexico

The Community Youth Mural Program was established in 1994 to combat graffiti. Upon the suggestion of then Mayor Debbie Jaramillo, the city chose to provide young people with a positive outlet for self-expression instead of requiring punitive measures for graffiti and vandalism. A key principle of the program is to ensure that the young artists are part of the entire process- from coming up with design ideas to final implementation.

The City of Santa Fe funds the Community Youth Mural Program (CYMP) and the Santa Fe Arts Commission administers the program. Thirty of Santa Fe¼s artists serve as project leaders and youth mentors. The program works directly with graffiti artists to create murals and reaches out to younger children to minimize future graffiti.

The city¼s graffiti clean-up crew helps to identify sites. However, it is the lead artist who initiates the project and works with a nonprofit agency to administer it. Projects are located at public sites and facilities, such as schools, parks, hospitals, bridges, traffic control boxes, even city buses. The youth artists represent a diverse cross-section of the community, including elementary through high school age-students, minorities, children with disabilities, Girl Scouts and "at-risk" youth.

In the spring, young people sign up for the five to 10 approved projects. After they work with the lead artist on designs, styles, and techniques, they submit a plan to the site owner, neighborhood, and Mayor¼s Mural Task Force for final approval. Then they call businesses to compare suppliers¼ costs; to assemble scaffolding; to paint, tile, or fresco, and clean up. Depending upon the project, they also participate in peer counseling, establish a disciplinary plan should one become necessary, and communicate with the public. By direct involvement in every step, young people learn what it means to be responsible to one another as well as to the project.

Upon project completion, the city dedicates it in a ceremony attended by the young artists, their families and friends. The Mayor congratulates each participant with a handshake and a Muchas Gracias certificate. Thanks to the program, the City of Santa Fe now boasts nearly 100 embellished public surfaces, including four imaginatively painted refuse trucks, a 600-foot-long spray-painted wall across from the city skate park, and a glass tile mosaic created by 10 teen artists who put together more than 50,000 pieces of Venetian glass to replicate an original 1478 Aztec mandala.