Heather Koontz
MONTPELIER — A special piece of artwork will make its grand debut at the Montpelier Art Walk on Friday, June 5. After five months of artistic collaboration, the Basement Teen Center and SafeArt are ready to unveil a large composition in the basement of the Kellogg-Hubbard Library.
For the Basement Teen Center, this unveiling marks the beginning of a new chapter and the second large collaboration with SafeArt. The first, created eight years ago, was in the Basement Teen Center’s former basement space in Montpelier City Hall. While the mural survived, the space was left unusable after the historic 2023 flood.
Youth Organizations Focus on Shared Vision
The Basement Teen Center is a program of Elevate Youth Services, a youth support organization and the only nonprofit in Washington County with a sole focus on the needs of adolescents. According to the organization’s website, Elevate Youth Services “envisions communities that value youths, ensure their well-being, and see them thrive.”
In partnership with the Kellogg-Hubbard Library, the Basement Teen Center offers free programming for youths ages 12 to 17. In addition to special events and workshops, teens can make linocut art, record music with provided instruments, play video and board games, and more.
When the Basement Teen Center moved into the library basement, the idea for a new mural quickly surfaced. The library offered a blank wall, National Life Group donated the funding, and SafeArt provided the mentorship needed to bring the project to life.
A 20-year-old nonprofit out of Chelsea, Vermont, SafeArt’s mission is to “promote community wellness, healing, and social change in Central Vermont, the Upper Valley and beyond.” Staffed by trauma-informed practitioners, the organization encourages participants to explore how an understanding of the nervous system can nurture compassion and empower change.
Collaboration Leads to Lasting Impact
With guidance from Jasper Wilder, a SafeArt artist mentor, the mural’s concept emerged after several months of discussion and collaboration among the Basement Teen Center’s teens. Wilder spent time visiting the center to establish trust, build relationships, and create art with the group. Eventually, participants met weekly to experiment with ideas, brainstorm a design, and finalize their shared vision for the art piece. In all, creation and design of the mural took about five months.
After six weeks of drawing onto the wall, the team repainted and layered the composition in an ongoing revision process. From there, background colors were added, and images and ideas began to shape the mural into its final form.
As a result of this lengthy collaborative process, Basement Teen Center Program Director Robert Morgan said the mural represents much more than the art itself.
“The BTC has experienced a lot of ‘coming apart’ over the last five years: from the pandemic, to the loss of our space from the flood, to the rather tenuous two years we spent being only minimally open in borrowed spaces,” Morgan said. “Working side by side, month after month, on a common project has fostered cooperation and connection between teens.”
Morgan said every Basement Teen Center participant had a chance to add their vision to the mural, and the result is a conversation starter that will welcome center participants for years to come.
“As a picture is worth a thousand words, this mural must be good for at least a quarter of a million,” Morgan said. “Every single image is like a unique voice in a chorus, providing so much to talk about and giving newcomers a taste of what the BTC is all about.”
The mural will be unveiled at 2 p.m. on June 5 and will be available for viewing during the Montpelier Art Walk, a self-guided tour of local artwork spread throughout 32 downtown locations. In addition to the mural, the Basement Teen Center will also showcase digital artwork, trading card art, and more. For more information about the event, visit montpelierartwalk.org.
