A group of New York City students used paint to explore some of today's most pressing social issues, and put it all on the table, so to speak.
Ten NYC public schools partnered with the youth art program known as LeAp and the city's Department of Parks & Recreation to decorate lunchroom tables and benches with images representing different issues, such as racism, gun violence, anti-bullying and police brutality.
Damon Hudson from I.S. 61 in Staten Island said the colors in his bench were symbolic.
“When it's dark, it's showing how you're upset and different types of dark sides inside you,” he said. “And when it's light blue, it's showing you how you're happy, you like to be with your friends and be cool with them.”
Siri Ojeda-Bess, a student at I.S. 219 New Venture School in the Bronx, imagined a better world in his images. “There's no gun violence. There'd be a blue sky. Everybody is feeling happy. Flowers to pick and such. And there'd be no disaster,” he said.
The painted benches will be placed in parks in all five boroughs from June to August.
