In Spring 2025, in honor of POD's 20th Anniversary, teens in the Saturday Portfolio Program's Public Art and Mural Making class designed and created a mural outside of the POD studio. Led by POD alum and local artist Kendel Joseph, this course revolved around the process involved with creating public art. Students examined how public art can energize a neighborhood by exploring cultural themes and placemaking and how these elements can form dynamic compositions, compelling subject matter, and artworks that speak both of and to the communities they inhabit. 

During the course, teens also had the opportunity to collaborate with visiting artists Hamilton and Taekia Glass from Mending Walls, a non-profit out of Richmond, Virginia, to deepen students' understanding of community-engaged public art practices.

This mural project was made possible thanks to funding from a RISD Professional Development Grant and Dr. Caitlin Black, who generously gave so much time, effort, and expertise to the development of this course and supported the project every step of the way. 

This class and mural project were thoughtfully documented by Phoenix Media Initiative and resulted in this 1-hour full-length documentary.