Always in Bloom 2023

Global HeART Warming

Last summer, we proudly completed the third year of our community garden art project, Always in Bloom, working with local youth from The Urban Assembly School for Green Careers (UAGC) in the beautification of a public green space on the corner of West 84th Street and Amsterdam Avenue in the Upper West Side neighborhood of Manhattan.

During the first two years of the project, we worked with several local artists and students from the UAGC to revitalize the garden—planting flowers, herbs, and vegetation, designing and painting three picnic tables, adding chickens and beehives, and creating a mosaic Peace Pond. This third year, CITYarts is working with artist Karen Fitzgerald to continue the mosaic and paint the first mural on the garden wall. The large-scale mural, designed in part by local youth, will honor nature and the UWS community. Always in Bloom is a part of CITYarts’ Global HeART Warming program, which celebrates nature and raises environmental awareness by inspiring youth to voice their ideas about reducing the speed of climate change and living sustainably.

This project has given local youth the opportunity to take an active role in contributing to their neighborhood through art, making shared green space more welcoming and enjoyable for the community as a whole. “By giving youth the agency to enact positive change in their communities today, we are empowering them to take on leadership roles in the future,” said Tsipi Ben-Haim, CITYarts Founder, Executive, and Creative Director. This project is funded in part by the Manhattan Community Award from the Manhattan Borough President’s Office.

Progress Photos

Photos from Year 2

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