For the past six weeks, I’ve been working with teens at BCYF Blackstone (
@bcyfcenters ) through BCYF Creates—an initiative piloted by The Untold Narratives (
@liznarratives @tunstories ) bringing high-quality arts programming into community centers.
I was brought on to create a mural and lead a series of workshops guiding teens through the full mural-making process from concept to execution.
We started by grounding ourselves in community—understanding the neighborhood, sharing personal experiences, and learning local history. From there, we studied murals, developed a collective message, built moodboards, and explored visual techniques artists use to communicate meaning.
Then the teens stepped into it, sketching their own concepts for what this wall could become. I used the conversations we’ve had and their sketches to inspire the final design.
@shotbynums has been capturing it all.
@guapmalice produced original music for the documentation — both of them having their personal ties to the surrounding community.
Tomorrow we put paint to the wall.
Thank you to Marco, Curtis, Mitchell + the teens for having me 🐙
![Learn your heart, earn your smile......[ @tedxroxbury 2026, directed by @dantemoon, photos by @sandras__3 & @shotbynums of dante luna Media Group] #tedx #roxbury #boston #heart #smile](https://sp1.picnob.com/p/pt_6727374533324545285735_0_54eb02b2ba113ff5df1cecb5671a6e53.jpg?o=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&h=ad9d14c8ce492052ffa6a3cf1f7115d8)
