Seeds of Health is developing a large-scale, 40-foot x 70-foot mural on the Tenor Journal Square High School building at the corner of Kilbourn Avenue and N. Vel R. Phillips Avenue in downtown Milwaukee, in partnership with acclaimed community artist, Tia Richardson of Cosmic Butterfly Design. This project is made possible through funding awarded by Bader Philanthropies and the Greater Milwaukee Foundation’s Mary L. Nohl Fund.
Guided by the artists’ signature community-centered process, this mural will be co-created by Tenor High School students, parents, staff, alumni, and partners. The theme will capture their collective journey through challenges they navigate, choices they make, and imagining of a brighter future. The mural will ultimately serve as a highly visible, lasting symbol to the City of the ability of Tenor students – as part of the broader Milwaukee community of young people – to build successful futures defined by opportunity.
Seeds of Health CEO Jodi Weber said, “We have the remarkable opportunity to work with an outstanding artist on a project that not only celebrates the Tenor community, but also honors the resilience, brilliance, and promise of Milwaukee’s young people. We are deeply grateful to Bader Philanthropies and the Greater Milwaukee Foundation for their generous investment in this meaningful project.”
Community design workshops have concluded, and community painting days are scheduled in April. Richardson said, “My work is about bringing people together and creating a sense of community. The mural is the vehicle of expression that helps people work together towards making something better.”
Mural installation will take place in summer, as weather permits.
Established by Seeds of Health in 2005 in Cathedral Square in downtown Milwaukee, Tenor High School developed a first-of-its kind “3+1” model in partnership with Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC), through which students take four years of high school credits in three years, then spend their fourth year of high school at MATC – at no cost to families – while receiving continued support from Tenor faculty and staff. When they graduate high school, students can leave with their certification in a trade, continue their studies at MATC, or transfer credits earned at MATC to a four-year university. The Tenor model offers students a significant jumpstart on their academic and career aspirations.
Because of the success of the model, Seeds of Health opened a second Tenor campus – Tenor Journal Square High School – in the former Milwaukee Journal Sentinel buildings in 2021. Tenor Journal Square is now undergoing a planned expansion, with building renovations to ultimately accommodate an enrollment of 500 students. When expansion is complete, Tenor Journal Square and Tenor Cathedral Square High Schools will together educate 775 students.