Hillcrest High School: The Power to Change

Veteran Thrive artist Will DeNatale and Yasmine Rodriguez worked with twelve students from Hillcrest High School to develop and produce “The Power to Change” mural this spring. The students brought enthusiasm and a clear vision for what they wanted to include in the final artwork. During the workshop, Will proposed additional ideas and the students were receptive to his experience and ability to expand their mind. The mural would include traditional symbols of peace while drawing inspiration from the diverse and dynamic spirit of Queens elements that tied it to the school’s identity.

In the end, Will hopes that the artwork illustrates how we can evolve into our best selves both individually and collectively. Will used various ideas and imagery that the students generated in class and combined them to depict colorful, uplifting and celebratory scenes that are atmospheric and gentle. The left side of the mural depicts two doves, which represent peace, carrying banners that have written the title of the mural on them: “The power to change.”

Underneath the doves, he painted a scene of a cookout and street vendors, depicting all the vibrancy and diversity of Jamaica Queens, the cultures and flavors coexisting in harmony. Will painted branches and a caterpillar becoming a butterfly to push the theme and further highlight the metaphor that our individual growth is a part of the larger growth of community, as well as those that came before us. In the middle and to the right side of the mural are girls playing Double Dutch, which illustrates how important play and physicality is in this process. Next to the double Dutch jumpers are two students studying with books and a fire escape leading the cosmos overhead. This illustrates the importance of cultivating and developing our own minds so that we can have a compass
and a roadmap for change.