Fighting paint with paint: These kids were sick of seeing graffiti. So they’re covering it with art

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Thirteen students at Pearl Ridge Elementary School are putting their artistic talents to good use.

They’ve been working on an art project that will bring a big splash of color to their community.

“I had this purple theme. It kinda looked like a nebula, however you would think of it,” said fifth grader Ava Lily Cabuhat.

The kids are in the school’s Gifted and Talented Program.

They have painted murals on 13 large vinyl banners that will cover graffiti that defaces a chain-link fence across the street from their campus.

“They had to do a lot of research. They had to do proposal letters, so a lot of writing. Public speaking, so a lot of soft skills, as well as being able to come up with a problem in the community that they wanted to try to solve,” GT teacher Grant Oka said.

The banners will hang side by side and span over 100 feet of that fence line. The art is part of a project-based learning lesson.

Aiea Copy Center and Home Depot donated the materials.

The youngsters started working on the project in January. They designed the art on computers, mapped out the geometric designs on the banners, and added the color.

“I paint in my free time, so it was fun to do something I like in school,” said sixth grader Mia Tran.

To prepare for their assignment, they took field trips to the Honolulu Museum of Art and to Kakaako to see how POW! WOW! artists turned that area into an outdoor gallery.

And they have learned that community art can lead to less graffiti

“The kids are really excited,” said GT teacher Lori Tonaki. “When we started doing all the different parts to get to where we are today, the kids were very interactive in this whole process.”

Their magnificent mural is ready to be unveiled. On Friday, the youth will hang their banners on the fence.

“It will be super satisfying to see all our hard work on that fence,” Tran said.

“I’ll be really proud seeing something that I finished up there in the community for everyone to see,” Cabuhat said.

Pearl Ridge Elementary hopes its colorful community display will discourage tagging and inspire more outdoor art in its neck of the woods and in neighboring communities.

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