Lit Youngstown, in collaboration with the YSU Art Department, is seeking memories for an Andrews Ave. mural. The mural will be painted by students of Professor Dragana Crnjak, in a special topics class on creating public art.
We are so grateful for a Raymond J. Wean Foundation Neighborhood SUCCESS Grant to help us fund the project. The mural will feature a memory line, a ribbon of memories running throughout the piece. As the mural is in downtown Youngstown, and the project is an act of beautification of our neighborhood, we are seeking memories of downtown Youngstown from current or past residents/visitors of the city. The submission portal will be open until May 31.
What is your earliest memory of downtown Youngstown? Did you live in or visit the City as a child? Did you move to Youngstown as a YSU student, or come for a job?
We are looking for memories of downtown Youngstown, difficult and lovely, from current/former residents who are diverse in age, ethnicity, and experience. Youngstown is a complicated place, and our shared memories reflect that complexity.
Please submit one memory per person, one-two sentences. Include specific details to help the reader imagine your memory. See examples below:
“My favorite restaurant was Charlie Staples, and we would all pile in my Grandpa’s silver Buick on Friday night. My mouth waters remembering that sweet, sticky sauce.” “YSU was like a secret garden surrounded by neighborhoods that must have been unimaginably beautiful. When I took walks off campus, I thought about winning the lottery, buy all those houses and bring them back to life.” “I met my husband at the Elms Ballroom. I saw him from across the room, wearing a beautiful hat, dancing like it was a Hollywood movie.” “The first time I saw downtown Youngstown it was almost completely shuttered. Then a few bars and restaurants opened, with the exposed brick and tin ceilings, and it felt urgent to keep them alive.” “Soon as I was old enough to get in with a fake I.D., I was at Cedars every weekend to hear great music and hang out with all the musicians, artists and other misfits.”
The deadline for submissions is May 31. We’ll be in touch over the summer about selected memories and mural progression.