An innovative, exciting new space for creative expression and artistic freedom is taking shape at the Cheyenne River Youth Project® campus on East Lincoln Street in Eagle Butte, South Dakota. The 25-year-old, not-for-profit youth organization is building a community art park, which it plans to formally dedicate on Monday, September 15.
To help raise awareness and support CRYP’s fundraising efforts, the not-for-profit group About This Life Inc. will be working on a special project dedicated to the art park during Rapid City’s Autumn Nights on Thursday, September 11. About This Life artist Aaron “AMP” Pearcy will collaborate with the Dahl Fine Art Center’s Tyler “Siamese” Read on a large-scale mural.
“The objective is to bring awareness to the art park in Eagle Butte, and let our community know how they can help support the cause,” said About This Life’s Sara Johnson Levy. “The mural will be completed in Rapid City’s Art Alley, and the finishing touches will be added during Autumn Nights, on September 11 from 6 to 9 p.m.”
Levy said the public is welcome to come watch the artists in action — and to show support for what she calls “an awesome project.”
Located adjacent to CRYP’s Cokata Wiconi (“Center of Life” in Lakota) teen center, the new art park will be a safe outdoor space for self-expression through graffiti art and traditional painting. It will benefit those who create artwork within its borders, but it also will benefit those who choose to visit the ever-changing walls of art.
“We’re thrilled to be involved with building a community art park,” said Julie Garreau, CRYP’s executive director. “For many years, our community has been negatively affected by vandalism through graffiti tagging. We’re saddened and disappointed when we see the defacement of buildings, signs, and property here on Cheyenne River, so our hope is that this will be a place for our young people to express their artistic selves while focusing on creation rather than on destruction.
“We hope the art park will become a source of pride for our town and an attraction for Cheyenne River visitors,” she added.
When the art park project first took shape earlier this summer, CRYP staff invited renowned graffiti artist Peyton Russell to its campus to teach youth participants the basics of graffiti lettering. While on the reservation, he also created a mural on the old Main Street bowling alley.
“The dedication and enthusiasm we saw from our kids during the weeklong workshop, and the interest we’ve seen from all the community members who have witnessed Peyton’s mural, gave us the confidence to build the art park,” Garreau said. “Graffiti — not tagging — is an art form, and with so many kids already experimenting with it, we believe it’s time to provide a dedicated place for them to get outside, hone their skills, and develop their own artistic practices and vision.”
Levy agreed with Garreau, calling art an incredible, positive outlet for young people.
“The art park will give them a safe and legal place to develop their artistic abilities,” she said. “It gives them something they can take ownership of, and pride in.”
The benefits, she added, will be immeasurable.
“This is a form of self-expression that is unlike any other,” she explained. “The art park can encourage youth to find their own voices, and it gives them the venue to express those voices. That is incredibly powerful.”
CRYP staff and volunteers are currently in the process of building a fence around the art park property and designing the structures that will serve as canvases for the artists.
“With the space, lots of creative ideas, and the drive to make this art park a center for creative expression and a gathering place for all, we are well on our way to making our dream a reality,” Garreau said. “It’s so exciting, and we’re encouraging our friends and supporters to be a part of it.”
Those interested in making a contribution can sponsor a section of the art park by making a tax-deductible donation. Those funds will be used to purchase materials for building the art structures. Online donations can be made at https://www.crowdrise.com/crypartpark/fundraiser/lakotayouth. For more information, call the CRYP headquarters at (605) 964-8200.
The Cheyenne River Youth Project, founded in 1988, is a grassroots, not-for-profit organization dedicated to providing the youth of the Cheyenne River reservation with access to a vibrant and secure future through a wide variety of culturally sensitive and enduring programs, projects and facilities that ensure strong, self-sufficient families and communities.