“11 young artists spent the early part of their summer transforming a plain concrete wall into a colorful mural that represents their perceptions of home”

With their summer efforts winding down, Urbano is planning a three-day showcase, “a series of three events celebrating artwork created by youth artists and community participants” from August 18 to 20.

Egleston Square, which straddles Roxbury Crossing and Jamaica Plain, will be home to two new public art installations by artists working with the Urbano Project, all centered around the theme of democracy.

Artists Krystle Brown and Ponnapa Prakkamakul each led a workshop of youth and adults to collaborate on their respective projects going up this month. In her installation, Brown wanted to address housing insecurity, while Prakkamakul said she worked with students to test the boundaries of public spaces through sidewalk games.

MORE THAN $3.4 MILLION IN GRANTS AWARDED TO LOCAL ARTS AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS

One hundred and ninety-two arts and cultural organizations received grants totaling $3,422,000 as part of the City’s Boston Cultural Council grants and Reopen Creative Boston ARPA funding.

“There are people who believe art is art — that we shouldn’t expect anything other than an aesthetic experience,” Jimenez observed. “So I think the question becomes, how can we learn to shape or perhaps even advocate for the kinds of experiences we want to see in Boston.” Jimenez, 35, spent over 20 years working as a professional musician. Now a PhD candidate in Harvard’s Graduate School of Education, she’s turned her focus to studying and creating entirely new kinds of learning opportunities, specifically ones that are less white-washed than what she experienced as a young artist.

As everyone rolled in for the March 19 event, I sat and waited for the presentation of what would be beautiful art from people who do not consider them artists. It started with a warm welcome to show how much of a community had been built through this exhibition.

In a year of pandemic-induced trauma and isolation, Nora Valdez wanted to create a physical representation of healing. The Boston-based Argentinian artist is the brains behind “We Heal,” a project that encouraged local cancer patients — many of whom are immigrants — to answer two questions: What images, words, people, and foods bring comfort? And what inspires and brings hope?