A public art program in uptown Greenville is giving at-risk teens a chance to make a positive impact in their community.

The Youth Arts Initiative at Emerge Gallery offers instruction and public art projects to underprivileged and at-risk teens to give them a chance to improve their environment, said Holly Garriott, director of Emerge.

Jason A. Frizzelle/The Daily Reflector (ENLARGE)

HASHON BOSKEY paints a part of a mural Tuesday on Evans Street. Hoskey and six other at-risk teens have been working on the mural at 423 Evans St.

Seven teens have spent three days working on a mural on the front of the former Joan's Fashions building, 423 Evans St., with their instructor, Ira Varney, an art teacher at South Central High School.

The teens are painting a farm scene over the windows of the building, which suffered major damage when the roof collapsed several years ago and is slated to be completely remodeled.

The project comes just before the Uptown Greenville Arts Festival on April 14 that should draw hundreds of visitors downtown and who will walk by the mural.

Hashon Boskey, 14, said he enjoys painting and looks forward to coming out to work on the project. The teens work on art projects every Tuesday. They are served a meal and given time to write in their journals each week.

"I like painting the animals," Boskey said.

Boskey has shown interest in getting more involved with the arts, said Heather White, director of education and outreach at Emerge. He has even volunteered to help out with the arts festival.

"We are trying to make art accessible to the people who really need it," White said. "We can tell the kids are getting more invested in their community."

The kids come to the program on the recommendation of various agencies and schools.

"A lot of it is for kids with artistic talent, but no other outlet for expression," Garriott said.

Garriott said that Emerge tries to offer one free program like this for every paid program it offers.

"This is awesome," said Varney, the art instructor. "It is fun to see them so excited about art and wanting to come out for more each week."

The group has been meeting for 10 weeks. They painted a mural on wood inside of the gallery before heading outside to show off their talents. The teens can stay in the program as long as they want and new members rotate in and out, with no more than about eight teens at a time.

Josh Humphries can be contacted at jhumphries@coxnc.com and 329-9565.