Making Young Voices Visible

When we first helped create 826 Valencia’s Tenderloin Center, a free writing center for young people, the exterior was an important part of the story. Office designed a larger-than-life sea creature mural inspired by King Carl, the center’s adventuring puffer fish mascot, bringing some of the imaginative world inside the building out onto the street. Years later, after the mural had become heavily covered in graffiti, 826 Valencia invited us back to give it new life.

The new mural builds on the world we previously created, now incorporating the voices of the students themselves. 826 asked young people in its programs to write about the Tenderloin neighborhood: what they notice, what they love and what they would change if they were in charge. Their answers ranged from “rare and radiant sun rays” to a neighborhood filled with “sparkly playgrounds and chihuahuas.”

We wove excerpts from kids' writing through the design, carrying forward the spirit of the original mural while giving their words a prominent place in the neighborhood. We’re proud to continue our longstanding collaboration with 826 Valencia, celebrating young people’s creativity and making their voices visible.