The Alley Art Project, Introduction by Bill Boland

In 2009, the Alley Art project was inaugurated.  The project evolved through the partnership established in 2003 between The Rockwell Museum and the Corning-Painted Post Area School District High School Learning Center (HSLC). The Museum, C-PP HSLC, the City of Corning, Corning's Gaffer District and Market Street Restoration offices  worked together to move this project forward. Beginning in August of 2009,  HSLC students began designs for what became the first Alley Art mural painting: the Tree of Life. To date, in total six murals have been completed through the program including one with students from The Laura Richardson Houghton Corning Youth Center. A seventh mural will be executed in 2015. The murals are designed each year with a group of 12-15 HSLC students under the direction of Rockwell Museum Director of Education, Gigi Alvaré and Bradford Leiby, former Museum student intern and HSLC graduate, who has served as artist-in-residence for the project since 2009. Katie Serdula, (CCC graduate ) and Margie VanVleet (retired lead teacher, HSLC) served as artists in residence for the The Laura Richardson Houghton Corning Youth Center mural. Students study works in the Rockwell Museum collection which serve as inspiration for their designs. The painting of each mural is then executed by the entire HSLC student body over the course of two months and serves as community service credit hours for the students.  The twelve year partnership between The Rockwell Museum and The High School Learning Center demonstrates the role a museum (with education at the heart of its mission) and a school ( dedicated to the academic and social success of their students) can play in breaking down barriers and creating a relationship between marginalized youth and the community in which they live.