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Art Of Mentoring In Minneapolis, Minn.

Preparing a wall for a mural.
Courtesy of MPTA
Preparing a wall for a mural.

Cross the Mississippi River on Saint Paul's Marshall Avenue and it morphs into Minneapolis' Lake Street — a colorful kaleidoscope of cultures.

As Lake Street's collection of murals grows, so does its sense of safety, beauty and community — thanks to groups of artist-activists.

Chicano artist Jimmy Longoria and his organization, , is one such group. The team paints local businesses with murals, Jimmy says, "embracing huge spans of wall, every inch covered in a jungle of graffiti-deterring, ribbony paint."

MPTA's goal: to "foster youth leadership through art projects, forge strong communities and fulfill expectations that art works."

Allison Muotka is an intern at MPTA. She listens to The Current.

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Allison Muotka
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