Brooklyn-based artist Sophia Dawson traveled to Seattle to lead several similar workshops with youth to create her mural, In His Presence. “We talked about the concept of a ‘visit’ and if we were to sit across the table from someone that we loved, what would we do? Where would we be?” she says. “We all agreed that the mural design should cause visitors to feel that they are in an entirely different environment.” Dawson works as a teaching artist with adolescents detained at Rikers Island.

Three murals by Portland-based artist Blaine Fontana juxtapose Northwest wildlife with bright and bold graphics, at once physical and metaphysical, organic and architectural, painterly and illustrative. Using drawings, textures, and patterns created by youth, he based each design on a motif that represents the regional landscape.