A handful of young artists sporting coats and winter boots gathered at a Hennepin Avenue bus stop Tuesday to raise awareness of child abuse -- one splash of paint at a time.
Children, parents and volunteers surrounded two large canvasses and loaded their brushes with paint. Four-year-old twins Madeline and Meredith painted purple flowers and swirls next to Minneapolis Mayor R.T Rybak.
"[I painted] all those things that are kind of messed-up," Madeline said.
"There are no mistakes in art," a volunteer corrected.
Though the mood was lighthearted, the event highlighted a problem that affects 7,000 Minnesota children a year.
Tuesday's artworks are among 20 paintings created by children who have personally experienced abuse and neglect. They will be on display at five bus stops along Hennepin Avenue until May 1 to commemorate national Child Abuse Prevention Month.
The project is the work of Free Arts Minnesota, a local nonprofit that uses art to help children process and heal from violent experiences like abuse. Most of the young artists in the program live in transitional homes such as homeless shelters and halfway houses, volunteer artist Jill Eckhoff-King said. "They all have had some rough things happen," she said.
Though many of the paintings feature cheerful spring designs, there are several that clearly hold a much different meaning.
