THE NEW MOBILE MURAL spearheaded by A Healthy Lynnfield and the Youth Council at Lynnfield High School is unveiled by, from left, A Healthy Lynnfield Program Director Diana DeLeo, LHS junior/Youth Council member Olivia Sylvester and Re-create Studio owner/project advisor Heidi Reynolds. (Dan Tomasello Photo)
By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — A new outdoor mobile mural created by current and former Lynnfield High School students seeks to empower young people’s voices and encourages the community to listen to them.
The new mural that was recently completed features a girl painted in black and white with her eyes shut proclaiming, “I Raise My Voice!” on a multicolored backdrop with a tree and falling leaves. The mural also includes positive phrases such as “supporting others,” “ignoring others judgment,” “setting goals for myself,” “perseverance,” “being respectful,” “putting myself in other people’s shoes,” “diversity” and “inclusion.”
“I am so proud of the Lynnfield High School students who worked together to complete this mural,” said A Healthy Lynnfield Program Director Diana DeLeo. “The message of the mural, ‘Empowering Youth Voices,’ is also the motto they used to get this project done which is cool. It really was a group effort, everything from soliciting funds to building the structure to design and painting.”
DeLeo said The 84 Movement’s Creative Spark Fund financed the mobile mural project after the Youth Council was awarded a $5,000 grant.
“The 84.org is a Massachusetts organization that we work with on education and advocacy regarding vaping and tobacco,” said DeLeo. “Lynnfield High is an 84 Chapter. They emailed us letting us know they had a Creative Spark Fund that was accepting applications for youth projects. I presented that information to our Youth Council and Olivia Sylvester, who was only a sophomore at the time, was interested in submitting a project idea.”
Olivia said she hopes the community learns from and embraces the mural’s message.
“This mural is very important to both me and my community,” said Olivia. “This mural represents countless hours of hard work, dedication and collaboration, with a message that will continue to inspire and guide future generations. Designed to uplift student voices, the mural gives young people a sense of belonging and empowerment. Through powerful and positive words, this mural encourages our youth to speak up, embrace their individuality and take pride in who they are. Beyond amplifying student voices, the mural also reflects the strength of our community and the importance of teamwork.”
DeLeo said Olivia served as the mobile mural project’s leader. She said LHS senior David Glynn built the mural, and LHS Class of 2025 graduate Caitlin Buoniconti, college student Kasey Schena, LHS sophomore Meghan Geary, LHS sophomore, Hailey Crosbie, LHS sophomore Lorna Murray, LHS sophomore Rachel Long and Lynnfield Middle School eighth grader Hannah Crosbie painted the mural.
“This mural was made possible through hard work, vision and dedication,” said DeLeo. “Thank you to all the students and Youth Council members who submitted creative content to be included in the mural. This is truly a reflection of what an amazing and empowered group of young people our community has.”
DeLeo said Lynnfield artist Heidi Reynolds, who owns Re-create Studio in town and was recently named co-president of the Lynnfield Art Guild, served as the mural project’s advisor.
“Heidi was a huge part of the success of this mural,” said DeLeo. “She outlined the process for us — everything from timeline to supplies. She put together our ‘call for art’ and budget, and she had direct oversight of the artists for the entire project. We are so lucky to have someone like Heidi in our community. What was cool to watch was also how much the students participating look up to Heidi. She’s such a positive role model for young artists.”
Reynolds loved working on the mural with the students and DeLeo.
“It was truly an honor working with Diana and the students on this mural,” said Reynolds. “I really wanted the students to lead and have as much agency as possible, and for me to take a supportive role in keeping the project moving forward. I was continually impressed by their hard work and how they stepped up with inclusive ideas and design choices, as well their dedication to the actual painting process. Not only did the kids initiate this project, but they really owned it and saw it through from start to finish, even staying late on the last day to finish up details. Diana was wonderful to work with and made it easy to collaborate with the school. It is obvious how her work with A Healthy Lynnfield has formed such strong, positive connections within the community. From helping the students develop the proposal to finding us a place to paint to reaching out to David to build the frame, she was such an integral part of the project.”
DeLeo said the mural’s theme of “empowering youth voices” is an incredibly important message for the community to learn from and hear.
“Empowering youth voices means creating opportunities and providing the support for young people to be heard, to share their unique ideas and perspectives, and to actively participate in decision-making processes that affect their lives and communities,” said DeLeo.
Olivia originally proposed painting the new mural on an exterior brick wall outside the locker room exit doors facing Pioneer Stadium at LHS. However, Olivia scrapped that proposal after three School Committee members and Superintendent Tom Geary expressed concerns about it during an April meeting.
“When Olivia originally proposed the idea of a mural to the School Committee, we hit some unanticipated roadblocks,” said DeLeo. “I am so proud that she was able to pivot and develop the idea of a mobile mural.”
DeLeo said the mobile mural was first put on display at the LHS entrance during the first week of school. She said the mural is going to be placed at different locations around town.
“The next spot we plan for it to be is by the athletic fields as the fall season begins,” said DeLeo. “The Lynnfield Public Library has also reached out about hosting the mural so we plan to do that at some point.”
DeLeo said she hopes the community learns from the mural’s positive message and celebrates hard work of the students who created it.
“I hope the community takes away that our Lynnfield youth are amazing and have so much to say,” said DeLeo. “If anyone follows the work of our middle and high school Youth Councils, they will see amazing ideas and projects they are working on all year long. We need to create a supportive environment and actually listen to our young people. We need to show them that we value their perspectives and give them more opportunities to lead.”