Local teens paint new mural along Santa Fe Trail near Deep Ellum

Mural at Dallas Stage Scenery along Santa Fe Trail. Photo courtesy of The Cedars Union.

Eight students recently painted a mural on the side of a building along the Santa Fe Trail near Deep Ellum.

The students, all high-schoolers at Dallas ISD schools, participated in the Teen Mural Camp, which was hosted by The Cedars Union, a nonprofit arts incubator, and funded in part by the Office of Arts and Culture.

The Cedars Union hired three top local muralists — Jeremy Biggers, Hatziel Flores and Mari Pohlman — to teach the students about developing ideas, learning skills and working with a client and community. The nonprofit caters to adult artists, so this program allowed the organization to continue its mission and reach young artists in Dallas.

Bianca Barrera, who attends Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, participated in the program.

She says she wanted to be involved with the camp because she had never done a mural before and wanted to try it out. During her time, she learned different techniques for using spray paint, and she learned how to transfer a sketch to a wall using a doodle board.

“My favorite part was definitely the feeling of accomplishment when the mural was done, and also the lunch breaks,” she says.

It took the students about 12 hours over three days to actually paint the mural on the side of Dallas Stage Scenery, which builds scenery for organizations such as the Dallas Arboretum and the Dallas Opera, says Adrienne Lichliter, the marketing and programs manager at The Cedars Union.

This year’s theme was “setting the scene.” There were three teams of students, and each painted one wall. The murals beautify a part of the Santa Fe Trail that hasn’t received as much attention, Lichliter says, and they are visible to DART riders.

Another mural was painted along the Santa Fe Trail near the Brookside Drive bridge by students at Woodrow Wilson High School.