A mural painted by 25 children in Delaware’s foster care system over spring break was unveiled at Kent County Family Court Monday at a special ceremony inside the courtroom of Judge Mardi Pyott, where the mural will permanently reside.
The mural - titled “Choices Too” - is the culmination of the work done over spring break by members of the Delaware Youth Advisory Council (YAC) - an organization of current and former foster care youth - in cooperation with the Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families (DSCYF) and Lead Your Way Solutions.
Judge Pyott says the collaboration’s themes of growth, perseverance and triumph is inspiring. She adds the creativity and honesty displayed honors the artists and can be a learning tool for kids and their families who come through the family court system.
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"I see people usually at their worst," Pyott said, "and I want them to see that there is a rainbow at the end, that there’s flowers at the end, that there’s a lighthouse. It is going to be better. You just have to have the confidence in yourself to know that you can get through this."
The artists painted scenes of fish, flowers, animals and rainbows, along with messages that depict the struggles and challenges many in the foster care system face on their way to adulthood.
17-year old Gerard McDonald is the Youth Advisory Council President and a foster child.
He sees the mural as a voice for kids going through the Family Court system who cannot speak for themselves, as well as a lesson in consequences.
"Good things or bad things, you have your choices and you have your in-betweens," said McDonald. "And this is your in-betweens, your thought process before you go here and before you go there. It just depends, what route do you really want to take?"
The project was completed with the help of the Dover Art League, which provided the studio space; The Delaware Bar Foundation, which provided the funding; and Lead Your Way Solutions artist, John Donato who oversaw the creative side of the project and challenged the youths to decide on their own how they wanted to depict their legacy.
"I knew they were going to really, really uncomfortable places to finish this [mural]," Donato said. "It isn't about anything that I could say or anything that I could paint. Its really about what [the children] brought to this mural and everything [they] put in to it."
This is the second mural of its kind. The first - which Donato also had a hand in helping to create in 2012 - is on display in Sussex County Family Court. An additional mural is also being planned for New Castle County.
This piece is made possible, in part, by a grant from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency dedicated to nurturing and supporting the arts in Delaware, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.
