Peace Walls
Young people from two communities design one wall together. The first was a 213-foot mosaic in Harlem with MacArthur Fellow Peter Sís.
CITYarts, Inc. · 501(c)(3) nonprofit · founded 1989
380+ projects. 100,000+ young people. One method.
When kids create art, they create meaning — and a place for themselves in the world. CITYarts gives youth real ownership of public art, made alongside professional artists, that turns creative expression into dialogue within communities and across them. The result isn't a single mural or a single season — it's a sustained practice that changes the artists who make it, and the places that hold what they made.
- 380+projects
- completed since 1989
- 100,000+youth
- have made work with CITYarts
- 600+artists
- professional artists collaborated with
- 80%+of participants
- from underserved BIPOC communities or economically disadvantaged
Where the work is
8 recent and current sites
Peace Walls pair young people from two divided communities on one design. Every location below is a finished or in-progress public work.
8 sites plotted, from the list below
380+ projects since 1989, as reported in CITYarts' FY26 grant filings
Shakespeare Stairs — Bronx, NYCPeace Wall — New Haven, CTAlways in Bloom — Manhattan, NYCPeace Wall — Harlem, NYwith Peter Sís, with youth and community leadersPeace Wall — Tel Aviv–JaffaPeace Wall — Berlin, Germany112 Prince St Mural — SoHo, NYCRolling Bench Mosaic — General Grant Memorial
Bronx, NYCShakespeare Stairs
New Haven, CTPeace Wall
Manhattan, NYCAlways in Bloom
Harlem, NYPeace Wall · with Peter Sís, with youth and community leaders
Tel Aviv–JaffaPeace Wall
Berlin, GermanyPeace Wall
SoHo, NYC112 Prince St Mural
General Grant MemorialRolling Bench Mosaic
Programs
Four ways the work happens
Pieces for Peace
Children worldwide each contribute one piece. Over 10,000 artworks now sit in the online exhibition; the work has shown at UNESCO.
Community Identity
A neighborhood decides what its own wall should say, and its teenagers paint it. More than 250 middle and high school youth in 2026.
Young Minds Build Bridges
Partnerships with more than 1,400 schools and community partners running Pieces for Peace workshops.
For institutions
Corporate, foundation and major gifts
Gifts above the amounts on this page are arranged directly, not through a form. CITYarts co-brands walls, schools and traveling exhibitions, and reports on youth reached, square footage completed and press generated.
Multi-year commitmentSponsor a wall, a school or a city over two to five years, with reporting against the outcomes your institution is accountable for.
Donor-advised fundRecommend a grant through your DAF using the legal name and EIN below.
Stock or wire transferAsk for transfer instructions — appreciated securities are accepted.
BequestCITYarts can be named in a will or trust using the legal name and EIN below.
Talk to a person
REPLACE — named development contact
CITYarts, Inc. · REPLACE — EIN
REPLACE — mailing address, New York, NY
For artists
Work with us
CITYarts projects are led by professional artists working alongside young people. Every mural and mosaic on this site was made with an artist in the room.
For schools and young people
Bring a project to your school
Schools and community organisations host CITYarts projects. Young people research and select the issue, then take a real role in making the work — CITYarts brings the artist, the materials and the process.
Not ready to give today?
Leave a way to reach you.
A mural takes a season. We will tell you when this one is finished, and we will not sell your address to anyone, ever.
How it works
Three things that happen on every project
Every participant gets a job and a paintbrush
Youth research and select the issue, work with subject-matter experts to understand it, then take on a real role — ambassador, coordinator, fundraiser, scout — with visible responsibility.
Art becomes the conversation where words are not enough
A mural or a mosaic says what words may not be able to convey. It sparks dialogue locally between youth and neighbors — and globally, where murals on opposite sides of the world speak to the same theme.
A sustained practice, not a one-off
Not a single workshop or a single grant cycle — a sustained creative practice, project by project, that changes a young person's trajectory and leaves a lasting mark on their community.
Support the work
A million a year, sustained.
The programmes above run on materials, artists' time, and the staff who hold a project together. Individual giving is the smallest share of that, and the one with the most room to grow.
A monthly gift is worth more than its size suggests: it is the only kind that funds a practice rather than a project.
Institutional
Pieces for Peace exhibited at UNESCO, Paris. Current mosaic restoration at General Grant National Memorial, a National Park Service site.
Reach
More than 1,400+ schools and community partners have run Pieces for Peace workshops, on six continents.
Evidence
What participants say it did
Art serves as an outlet for our emotions and our creativity.Charlene, age 15
In New York, the opportunities we get to work on public art are far and few. Working with CITYarts has been both enriching and unique.Cheryl, age 17
I got to make my school look a little better!Genesis, age 13
Leadership
Founded and still led by Tsipi Ben-Haim
When kids create, they don't destroy — they inspire us all.Tsipi Ben-Haim, Founder, Creative & Executive Director
We don't just create murals, mosaics, and sculptures - we ignite transformation.Tsipi Ben-Haim · Founder, Executive & Creative Director
- CITYarts archives are held by the New-York Historical Society.
- Contributor to Vision for the Future, a Global Partnerships Forum book inspired by the UN's 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
- Honorary Member, Delta Kappa Gamma International Society for Key Women Educators.
- Featured by NYU Arts and Sciences as an alumna.
Corporate and foundation partners: CITYarts co-brands walls, schools and traveling exhibitions, and reports on youth reached, square footage completed and press generated. Ask for the current partnership deck.