H&R Block and Next Door announced Make Every Block Better, a nationwide competition to uplift communities and connect neighbors. Long-time Walnut Hills resident Gary Dangel nominated Walnut Hills and the neighborhood was selected as one of 2,000 neighborhoods from across the country, hoping to promote safety, art, and nature in front of Frederick Douglass Elementary School with a street mural.

Once Dangel was notified his project was selected as one of 10 projects funded, he recruited ArtWorks to bring his dreams to fruition. ArtWorks then brought in a familiar face, Brandon Hawkins of Soul Palette to design the mural and lead the project. His team consisted of Walnut Hills residents and six Youth Apprentices (Ella Emanuel, Marin Emanuel, Wesley Ericson, LaDe Richardson, Gabby Mendez, and Myles Williams).

The mural on Park Avenue depicts three panthers (Frederick Douglass Elementary’s mascot) with scenes of neighborhood buildings and nature filling each body as a nod to the school and community garden which sits across from it. The project took two days to complete and was finished on Sunday, October 11.

Photos featured by Carter Nolan Productions.