After School Matters teens collaborated to create custom piece on exterior of newly renovated community center with theme of “Love and Unity in the Community”

Related Midwest, Related Affordable Foundation and After School Matters have unveiled a new public mural at South Shore on The Park, an affordable housing community in Chicago’s South Shore neighborhood owned and managed by Related.

More than 100 guests, including elected officials, project partners, community stakeholders and residents, attended a ceremonial event yesterday, which showcased the mural designed and painted by local teens participating in After School Matters. The nonprofit organization provides paid opportunities for up to 19,000 teens across Chicago annually, helping them develop their talents while gaining critical life skills for work, college and beyond.

“As a proud and longtime supporter of After School Matters, I’ve seen firsthand the positive impact this incredible organization has on the lives of young Chicagoans, including some who live right here at South Shore on The Park,” said Curt Bailey, President of Related Midwest and After School Matters Board Member. “By offering experiences like this to showcase their creative talents, we’re not only helping these teens express themselves through art, but also teaching them essential skills, such as responsibility, collaboration and leadership. This program is an investment in the future of our city, and I’m honored to be part of it.”

Related Affordable Foundation, a charitable organization committed to enriching the lives of affordable housing residents, funded the After School Matters South Shore mural arts program, which incorporated the creativity and talent of 19 Chicago teens, 11 of whom are residents of South Shore on The Park. With a theme of “Love and Unity in the Community,” the mural showcases teens supporting one another, overcoming challenges and receiving love and support from adults. Over the course of six weeks, the teens worked with Mexican-American artist Erick “ROHO” Garcia, who is also an After School Matters program instructor, to design and paint the mural installed this month. They also collaborated with South Shore on The Park residents, who had the opportunity to offer input and have a voice in shaping the mural’s theme and design.

“Working on a mural like this and partnering with Related is important for teens because it brings the focus to the neighborhoods they live in,” said Garcia. “The teens take ownership of all the hard work they have done. It’s important to understand the long journey of coming up with ideas to realizing the finished product. Teens can recall what it takes to create something of this scale, creating magic.”

“Creating a piece of art that the entire neighborhood can see and enjoy has been an amazing experience that I am incredibly thankful for,” said Samantha Caraballo, a participant in the After School Matters program. “Not only did I get to express myself through art, but I also learned so much about working with others and seeing a project through from start to finish.”

The South Shore on The Park mural represents one of several collaborations between After School Matters, Related Midwest and the Related Affordable Foundation. Their most recent project was “Building Chicago Together,” a mural at HIRE360’s Development and Training Center, which opened last month.

“The community-inspired artwork unveiled today is a testament to our shared commitment to providing young people with meaningful opportunities to learn, grow and showcase their talents while making a lasting impact on their community,” said Janell George Smith, Executive Director, Related Affordable Foundation. “South Shore residents contributed their voices and points of view to this beautiful piece of art that honors their experiences, their aspirations and their neighborhood, and it’s inspiring to see such a rich and vibrant perspective come to life.”

The brightly colored mural was painted on the exterior of the property’s community center, whose renovation was completed in September. Related Midwest, in partnership with Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA), the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Wells Fargo and Bank of America, undertook a $52 million renovation focused on enhancing energy efficiency and improving the quality of life for residents.

About Related Midwest:

Related Midwest, the Chicago office of Related Companies, is the preeminent developer of mixed-use properties, affordable housing communities, and luxury condominium and rental homes across Chicago. The company commands a portfolio of residential, mixed-use and master-planned properties, including pioneering projects like The 78, a transformational 62-acre development in the heart of downtown Chicago envisioned as the city’s next great neighborhood, and 8080 S. DuSable Lake Shore Drive, a 400-acre innovation campus in the South Chicago neighborhood anchored by the Illinois Quantum & Microelectronics Park. Related Midwest is also the largest developer of affordable housing in the Midwest, with more than 10,000 units, and has never converted an affordable unit to market-rate.

The firm’s other market-defining projects include ultra-luxury residential tower One Bennett Park, designed by Robert A.M. Stern Architects, with an adjacent park by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates; Fulton Market’s The Row, the first high-rise in Chicago co-built by an African American-owned general contractor (BOWA Construction); luxury rental towers 500 N. Lake Shore Drive and OneEleven; Lathrop, an ongoing restoration and redevelopment of the historic Julia C. Lathrop Homes into a mixed-income community; 400 Lake Shore, two residential towers situated where the river meets the lake in Chicago, and Roosevelt Square, an innovative 120-acre multi-phase development on Chicago’s West Side.

For more than 30 years, Related Midwest has been an industry leader in community commitment and routinely sets the bar for measurable equity, diversity and inclusion standards on all of its projects. The company is deeply committed to improving neighborhoods, creating sustainable opportunities for small businesses and community residents, and building inspirational places and homes for all. Related Midwest’s business model is built on partnership with minority- and women-owned firms as well as mentorship of small minority- and women-owned businesses as they launch and grow. The firm is a founding partner in HIRE360, a first-of-its-kind community partnership designed to expand professional development and employment opportunities in the trades.

About Related Affordable Foundation:

The Related Affordable Foundation (RAF) is a charitable, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization committed to enriching the lives of affordable housing residents and breaking the generational cycle of poverty. Established in 2016, the Related Affordable Foundation sponsors impactful programs and activities in the areas of education, food security, health & wellness, and workforce development. For more information on the Related Affordable Foundation, please contact relatedaffordablefoundation@related.com.

About After School Matters:

After School Matters is a nonprofit organization that provides high quality after-school and summer opportunities to Chicago public high school teens to explore their passions and develop their talents while gaining critical skills for work, college, and beyond. After School Matters programs are project-based, led by industry experts, and provide a pathway to progress in skills development and independence. Teens earn a stipend while participating in programs in the arts, communications and leadership, sports, and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). Over the span of three decades, After School Matters has engaged more than 400,000 teens throughout the city of Chicago. Visit afterschoolmatters.org for more information.

IMAGES:        Additional photos that accompany this release can be viewed here.