The Open Wall Collective

A collaborative mural residency

Most of my work follows a standard path: a client hires me, I design and paint the piece, and the wall transforms. The Open Wall Collective shifts that dynamic. Instead of working on my own, I bring the people who actually use the space — whether they are students, residents, or staff — directly into the process. Over a series of hands-on sessions, they help design the concept and paint the wall alongside me. When it is finished, it isn't just a mural I handed over to them; it's a permanent landmark they helped build.

I started this program because I've seen firsthand what happens when you give people who don't consider themselves "artists" a paintbrush and a genuine say in their environment. The atmosphere in the room changes. There is a distinct sense of ownership that happens when someone walks past a massive piece of public art and can point to a section and say, "I painted that."

This isn't a superficial team-building exercise or a casual craft project. It's a structured, professionally facilitated creative partnership. While the framework adapts to fit the specific logistics of a school, a wellness center, or a public space, the core philosophy stays the same: the people who live, work, and exist in a space should have a hand in shaping how it feels.

Recovery & Treatment Centers

Residents collaborate on a mural for a shared space in their facility — a hallway, a common room, a dining area — over a series of guided sessions. Every participant contributes to a real, finished piece they can point to. It's a professional creative partnership that complements the clinical care a facility already provides, not a replacement for it. Participants are treated as collaborators on a real project, not as patients in a session.

Senior & Retired Living Communities

A legacy project, built by hand. Residents work together — fully seated, fully accessible — to design and paint a mural rooted in their own stories and the life of their community. The sessions offer connection, gentle cognitive and motor engagement, and a calm, mindful focus, and the finished piece becomes something residents can show to their families with real pride.

K–12 Schools

Students design and paint a mural in a shared space at their school — a hallway, a cafeteria, a library — and walk away with something more permanent than a grade: ownership. The residency touches art, design, geometry, color theory, and teamwork, and it changes how students relate to the building they spend their days in, from "I go here" to "I helped make this."

Businesses & Organizations

A team-building exercise that leaves something behind. Your group works together to design and paint a mural in your workplace — a project with real creative stakes, where titles stop mattering and people surprise each other. The mural becomes part of how your team describes its culture, long after an offsite or other gathering is forgotten.

Public Spaces & Civic Organizations

Libraries, parks, town halls, and community centers all have one thing in common: walls that belong to everyone. This residency invites the people who use a public space — neighbors, patrons, volunteers — to help shape what goes on it, creating a landmark the whole community had a hand in making, often documented for grant reports, press, and public dedication.

How It Works

Every residency runs over a series of guided sessions — typically four, 60 to 90 minutes each — covering concept and design, technique and preparation, the collaborative paint itself, and a final session for finishing details and a celebration. Between sessions, I handle the solo prep and finish work — so what your group experiences is focused, collaborative time, not watching me paint alone.

Every project includes design development, all materials and site protection, full facilitation, protective sealing, liability insurance, and high-resolution photo documentation that you're free to use in your own newsletters, reports, or social media.

Get in Touch

If one of these sounds like the right fit for your group, I'd love to talk. Get in touch and tell me a little about your space and what you're hoping for — I'll follow up with next steps and, if it's helpful, a more detailed proposal.