Muralist Leah Samuelson heads to Guatemala City on Sunday May 18 to begin a mural in one of Guatemala's prisons that houses gang members. The project, a local request, will

Leah is a professional artist who is enrolled in the MA in Urban Studies, Arts in Transformation Concentration of Eastern University. The degree, in partnership with the BuildaBridge Institute trains for a variety of arts methods for holistic community development. The arts courses for the degree are offered through the BuildaBridge Institute.

BuildaBridge work in Guatemala has been in collaboration with Estrategia de Transformación that seeks to train youth workers in Central America headed by Dr. Joel Van Dyke. This particular project is part of a larger prison chaplaincy program.

BuildaBridge has established an office in Guatemala City where plans are underway for a Central American Institute in July 2009. BuildaBridge Artists on Call also support La Limonada school with arts camps, and interns. In November 2008, BuildaBridge will sponsor Serving at Thanksgiving, a community arts service trip to La Limonada and other locations to work with local children in arts-integrated programs.

Ron Hevey , BuildaBridge board member, has worked in the local prisons on several occassions teaching portrait painting. While local artists are involved, the risk level is much higher than for invited overseas artists.

There are other opportunities for Artists on Call in Guatemala. For information, email ncorbitt@buildabridge.org.