WISH WALL MURAL
MADE FROM WISHES COVERED IN PAINT, 2007
Thistle & Shamrock Convenience Store
62 Walden Street
Cambridge, MA 02140

The Wish Wall Mural is a community art mural organized by artist Kelly Sherman and made by members of the community. The project was accompanied by a series of lessons taught to students at the local Graham & Parks Alternative Public School. This website documents the entire Wish Wall Mural project, from the comments elicited from the elementary school students to the finishing touches of paint on the mural wall. Here you can learn about the topics discussed by the students, see pictures of the wall being painted, and even download lesson plans.

MAKE A WISH

After a series of lessons related to the project, fourth-graders from Graham & Parks Alternative Public School each wrote a personal wish on one brick of a Cambridge wall, then painted over it. The following day, community members gathered to add their own wishes to the wall. Children, teenagers, grandmothers, police officers, and construction workers all added wishes. Some people kept their wishes private and others were eager to share, but everyone sealed their wishes into the wall with a coat of paint. Having accumulated more than four-hundred wishes, the wall is a testament to the hopefulness of the community and a reminder to keep those hopes alive.

MAKE A WALL MURAL

Located at the corner of Walden & Richdale Streets in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the Thistle & Shamrock Convenience Store generously donated their wall to the community for the project. Led by artist Kelly Sherman, winner of the Institute of Contemporary Art's Foster Prize, community members helped make the mural by sharing their time, ladders, paint, and—most importantly—their many wishes. Stop by the Wish Wall Mural. Come see what it looks like and read the names of those who participated.

Thistle & Shamrock Convenience Store
62 Walden Street (corner of Walden & Richdale Streets)
Cambridge, MA 02140

WHY?

The Wish Wall Mural was conceived by conceptual artist Kelly Sherman. She was particularly interested in the idea of hopefulness, as well as the relationships between community art murals, Conceptual Art, graffiti, and what the fourth-graders have been calling "cover-ups"—places where graffiti has been painted out, "rollered," or simply covered up. Using wishes as its focal point, the mural becomes an ideal tool for explaining Conceptual Art. It also provides an interesting context to talk about the nature of wishing, ideas, and keeping secrets. While the mural itself is a unique addition to the neighborhood's aesthetic, the making of it has brought all ages and sectors of the community together in thinking about their hopes and wishes.

MORE

Although the participatory element of the project has ended, this website is still being updated with images and documents from the community painting event as well as from the educational component with Graham & Parks Alternative Public School. Please email any questions, comments, suggestions, or criticism to Kelly Sherman: kelly@kellysherman.net. All would be appreciated.