“Walkin’ Through Desire,” a 6-panel mural created by the Young Artist Movement (YAM) for the Giving Hope Community Center, follows the life of a young girl living in the Desire neighborhood of New Orleans. The mural was created to depict the past, present, and future of the 9th ward neighborhood. Across the mural, the central character ages from a young girl to a mother to a grandmother. Her orange attire honors the legacy of Carver High School.

The left three 8’ x 8’ panels represent Desire’s past. The sense of community is portrayed through the children playing in the park. The third panel depicts a porch talk, which was common in Desire where many community members would sit on their home’s porches and converse with their neighbors. This created a stronger sense of community amongst the people living there. The fourth 8’ x 8’ panel depicts a present-day porch scene. The main character, now a mother, engages with her daughter who is absorbed by technology, which highlights the contemporary time period and the neighborhood's development. In the final panel, the main character has become a grandmother. She is standing in the new park enjoying the neighborhood’s revival, a sign of Desire’s hopeful future.

YAM teamed up with three lead artists in the realization of “Walkin’ Through Desire.” Jessica Strahan worked with the students to research and initially design the mural in summer 2021. The following year Asia-Vinae “Preach” Palmer and Ayo Scott joined the team to bring the mural to completion.

Artists: Gabby Tolliver (YAM Program Coordinator), Victoria Phan, Elijah Turk, Aaran Hogan Jr., Jovan Green, Richard Payne, Jorielle Lee, Skye McQuirter, Dominique Celistan, Davon Celistan, Andy Pigg, Triche Shelton

This project was commissioned by Giving Hope Foundation and Thrive 9th Ward and supported by a grant from GPOA Foundation.