Multnomah County, Oregon, Dedicates Murals Painted by Detained Youth

Five vibrant murals cre­at­ed by youth at the Mult­nom­ah Coun­ty (Port­land), Ore­gon, Juve­nile Deten­tion Cen­ter were unveiled dur­ing a ded­i­ca­tion cer­e­mo­ny attend­ed by 40 peo­ple at the deten­tion cen­ter in June 2011. 

The 8‑feet-by-15-feet murals are rich with images and mul­ti­cul­tur­al ref­er­ences, and each one tells a dif­fer­ent sto­ry of hope. The Region­al Arts and Cul­tur­al Coun­cil com­mis­sioned the project, which involved two years of work by acclaimed artist Arvie Smith and 100 youth in detention. 

“We must show them the spir­it of love and for­give­ness that gives hope to those who have been cast aside,” Smith told The Skan­ner News dur­ing the ceremony. 

Two murals will stay at the deten­tion cen­ter. The oth­ers will be dis­played tem­porar­i­ly at the cen­tral police precinct and the coun­ty cour­t­house before return­ing to the deten­tion center.