For this school mural, veteran Thrive Collective artist Kadeem Phillip collaborated with New York Edge students at MS 484K to visualize the affirmation, “It Takes a Village.”

Both the theme and the process of designing and painting a mural collaboratively allowed students to experience how to function mission centered with a team. Initially, some of the middle school students didn’t want to participate. After introducing various painting exercises to them, they started to engage. Throughout the weeks, the value of success through teamwork can be seen with the end result thanks to their individual and collective effort. The village worked!

NY Edge MS 484: It Takes a Village (2025)