SKK Developments & The Grupe Company Tap into Creativity of Washington Elementary School Students to Inspire Designs for Sacramento’s Largest Mural to Debut in November

SACRAMENTO, CA (MPG) – The Grupe Company and SKK Developments are proud to announce a creative partnership with Washington Elementary School that will result in the exterior façade of Eleanor Apartments – a new multifamily residential building at 16^th and H Streets in Midtown Sacramento – being transformed by the largest mural in Sacramento history (five stories high and displayed on four sides of the building). Working in partnership with Wide Open Walls to secure the talented artists who will paint the eye-catching mural, the theme is A Journey into Curiosity and will visually relate a fantastical story of a mythical creature on a journey over and through land, air, and water.

“In these challenging times we need art more than ever,” said Marisa Kolokotronis, Project Manager, The Grupe Company. “We are thrilled to partner with Washington Elementary on this artistic collaboration – providing our youngest community members with the largest canvas in Sacramento history.”

While the mural will be painted by professional artists, the goal of the mural is to both inspire and be inspired by the creativity of local youth, in particular the students at neighboring Washington Elementary School. As part of the virtual summer school curriculum, approximately 200 Washington Elementary students have been provided with supplies and asked to draw, sketch, paint and/or animate their own Journey into Curiosity concepts as part of a contest for the professional artists to later use as inspiration for the mural. The deadline to submit entries via mail is August 14 (postmark date) before judging gets underway by educators and creatives who will select the winning submissions.

“As the Sacramento City Unified School District begins the year with our Distance Learning Program, we are committed to continuing to provide real-life experiences to our students and families,” said C.J. DeAngelus, Jr. Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA) Coordinator, Sacramento City Unified School District.  “SCUSD is proud to partner with The Grupe Company and SKK Developments to help students at Washington Elementary contribute to the design of the largest mural in Sacramento. Through this partnership, students at Washington Elementary will be able to see how their designs, which are being submitted through our distance-learning summer program, will help to tell a five-story visual narrative that they, and thousands of Sacramentans will view every day.”

In addition to encouraging creativity and a love of the arts, the school and students will benefit from the effort in a variety of other ways as well, including:

- In early September, the multiple young artists whose work is selected to help inspire the final mural design will each receive a gift card to purchase school or art supplies and inspire future creative pursuits;

- All the Washington Elementary summer school students and their families will be invited to participate in a virtual celebration in early September where they will have the opportunity to see a sneak peak of the mural creative; 

- An e-book will be created that showcases all the artwork submitted as part of the project. Interested community members will have the opportunity to download the e-book for a suggested donation, with proceeds benefitting Washington Elementary.

“This is such a tremendous opportunity for our students and families at Washington Elementary School,” said Dr. Gema Godina-Martinez, Principal, Washington Elementary School. “Midtown is our playground and this mural project will tie our student’s learning directly to our community in a meaningful way.”

The mural on the exterior façade of Eleanor Apartments is expected to be completed and revealed in November. To further celebrate the effort and involvement by the young artists-in-the-making, a mural will be painted at the entrance of the school (located at 520 18^th Street in Midtown Sacramento) in Fall 2020.

This program, the Eleanor Apartments mural, and the mural at Washington Elementary are made possible by The Grupe Company and SKK Developments. For more information about the A Journey Into Curiosity effort, please contact Anastasia Bonaccorso, SKK Developments, [email protected].