City-Wide Art Show, Contest Aims To Inspire Peace, Healing

BALTIMORE (WJZ)--As Baltimore City grapples with violence in its streets a new program is turning to art for solutions and healing.

Art is a powerful form of expression and a piece of work by Trinity Knight represents how violence impacts young lives in our city.

Trinity says over the past couple of months she's lost a lot of people due to gun violence, including one of her classmates at the Renaissance Academy months ago.

17-year-old Ananias Jolley was stabbed inside the West Baltimore school and died a month later.

"That really took a toll on me, it hurt real bad," said Trinity.

Trinity and others entered their artwork into an event called "Art Against Violence," which is a city-wide art gallery show and contest during Youth Violence Prevention Week and it's hitting home for the students.

"Who would want to die," says Jenelda Artis. "You never know when it could happen, where it could happen, who you are going to be around."

All the artwork is on display at the University of Maryland Medical Center.

"Unfortunately a lot of children witness domestic violence, street violence gang violence and drug deals and when they witness that on a daily basis it becomes normal and it's hard to break away from what they think is normal," said Erin Walton, a social worker at the University of Maryland Medical Center. "So offering them alternative ways to express themselves through art and other mediums reinforces the message that there are alternatives to violence."

Baltimore City students can submit artwork through Wednesday morning.

For more information about art against Violence CLICK HERE.

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