INLAND EMPIRE FUTURE MURALISTS

 WHAT IS IEFM?

Inland Empire Future Muralists (IEFM) is a youth arts initiative by Mass Murals that provides young artists with hands-on experience in mural creation, public art, creative collaboration, and community engagement. Inland Empire Future Muralists (IEFM) brings young people onto real mural projects to learn how public art gets made.

Working alongside professional muralists, participants help plan, prepare and paint large-scale artwork in their own schools and communities.

HOW THE PROGRAM WORKS - LEARNING BY DOING

IEFM turns an active mural project into a working classroom.

Each program is built around the project, giving participants an appropriate role in the process while introducing them to the planning, materials, techniques and teamwork behind professional mural production. IEFM transforms active mural projects into real-world learning environments. Participants work alongside professional muralists and become part of the process of creating public art—from early planning and preparation through painting and completion.

WHAT PARTICIPANTS LEARN

Depending on the project, participants may gain experience with:

Mural concept research • Image ideation • Asset gathering and Composition • Design transfer • Surface preparation • Brush and roller techniques • Spray-paint applications • Color mixing • Materials and equipment • Job-site practices

Along the way, they learn how artists communicate, solve problems, divide responsibilities and work together to complete something much larger than any one person could create alone.

IEFM IN ACTION

IEFM has brought hands-on mural education and mentorship directly into Inland Empire schools. The following projects show how the program adapts to different communities, themes, and learning opportunities.

GRAND TERRACE HIGH SCHOOL

“It’s All In Our Hands”

Students helped develop and paint a large-scale campus mural exploring environmental awareness and our shared responsibility for the future.

From early brainstorming and technical workshops to spray painting and final execution, students experienced the evolution of a public artwork from idea to finished wall.

SAN BERNARDINO HIGH SCHOOL

“My Vote Matters”

Students helped transform a school hallway into a large-scale mural centered on civic participation and the power of having a voice.

Participants worked through multiple stages of production—from measuring and layout to painting, mural maintenance and documentation—leaving behind a permanent artwork within their own school.

A.B. MILLER HIGH SCHOOL

“Welcome to the Rebelution”

At A.B. Miller High School in Fontana, students helped create a mural about career exploration, identity and possibility.

The composition begins with a landscape familiar throughout Fontana—warehouses, freight trains and trucks—and rises into a much broader world of possibilities: artists, musicians, photographers, skilled tradespeople, civic leaders and cultural figures.

Students explored those ideas through discussion and collaborative planning before helping bring the mural to life.

At the heart of the artwork is a simple message: the world students see around them does not define the limits of what they can become.

A PROGRAM BUILT AROUND THE PROJECT

No two IEFM projects need to look alike.

A program can be as focused as a single workshop or painting experience, or involve students across multiple stages of a mural—from early ideas and planning through final execution.

We shape the experience around the artwork, participants, site, schedule and goals of the partner organization.

BRING IEFM TO YOUR COMMUNITY

IEFM can partner with schools, school districts, cities, nonprofits, youth organizations, developers and public-art partners to bring young people into the creation of murals and public spaces.

The program can be added to an existing mural commission or developed as part of a larger public-art initiative.

INTERESTED IN WORKING WITH IEFM?

Tell us about your project, who you’d like to involve, and what you’d like them to experience. We’ll help shape an IEFM program around it.