news and events

Encore Awards

For more than a decade, CITYarts and The Walt Disney Company have collaborated on the creation of permanent public works to inspire, empower, and engage children from all backgrounds and cultures.

Since 1968, CITYarts, a nonprofit New York City arts organization has created 268 large-scale works of public art that have transformed communities and engaged more than 100,000 kids. CITYarts has collaborated with more than 500 artists, partnered with over 1,500 sponsors, and engaged over 500,000 volunteers in the process. The young participants are actively involved in all phases of the creative process, from conception through execution.

Since 1998, The Walt Disney Company has been a corporate partner. Disney created a pro bono PSA for CITYarts, which ran on the New York ABC affiliate. Disney sponsored the design and creation of several permanent outdoor works of art, and Disney employees, aptly called "VoluntEARS," joined city youth and neighborhood volunteers in painting the murals and creating the mosaics:

• Forever Tall Mural in Lower Manhattan (2001) showing the New York City skyline with the images of the Twin Towers reconstructed from flowers—a powerful response to the events of September 11.
• Celebrating the Heroes of Our City Mural, at Jackson Park in Manhattan (2002), paying tribute to the firefighters, police, and rescue workers of New York City.
• Heat Dancers to the Sun's Beat (2007) is part of CITYarts' Engaging Graffiti Kids in Creation Not Destruction mural program. The mural celebrates nature and raises environmental awareness about global warming.
• Rolling Benches at Grant's Tomb National Memorial Restoration project (2008) was developed when Disney brought groups of VoluntEARS and contributed money towards the timely completion of the restoration of this national landmark.

Disney also plans to sponsor workshops and mural projects for CITYarts' newest project, Global HeArt Warming, in which youth will address the issues of climate change and our environment.