About
Community Canvases was founded by Jim Montour, Alex Cornwell, and Elaine Grisanti. In Alex’s words, “After a considerable amount of research on the subject of communities and graffiti. One of the sources we found had done testing to see whether graffiti removal or graffiti replacement was the answer. Just covering it up with gray paint wasn’t enough. Rather, murals were the answer. The study found that murals deter graffiti on themselves and had a radiant effect on the area around them.” Over the past decade, Elaine Grisanti has stewarded Community Canvases along with Katherine Pessecow, and we have grown to include school programs, summer camps, community-building neighborhood clean-ups (FB, Instagram), and writing programs.
We believe all women can embrace who they are,
can define their future, and can change the world.
Our Mission
Community Canvases facilitates community engagement and expression through the arts.
Our Vision
Community Canvases envisions communities abundant with spaces where every person feels a sense of belonging and an invitation to express themselves, along with a feeling of responsibility toward their neighbors, community and city.