West Roxbury's Joyce Kilmer School has been splashed with a burst of color, thanks to Denver-based artist Thomas "Detour" Evans, who completed a vibrant mural titled "Together, We Rise" on the school's previously bland brick wall. The Boston Globe reports that Evans painted the piece using latex for the background and spray paint for the details, despite a couple rain surprises; he said, "I didn’t know about Boston weather," drawing laughter with his lighthearted recollection.

The mural's installation wasn't without its drama, community members' reactions ranged from praising to police-calling—yes, someone actually reported the sanctioned art project as a case of vandalism, prompting the Boston police to send three cruisers, per a Boston Art Review scoop resulting in both a chuckle-worthy anecdote and a poignant reflection on public art's place within different neighborhoods. Moreover, while the project, part of the city's A Canvas of Culture initiative, was meticulously veted by various stakeholders before getting the green light, it still struck a discordant note with some locals unaccustomed to such bright and bold transformations of their traditional spaces.

Educational aspirations aside, the mural has sparked a deeper conversation about art's role and reach, igniting dialogues on Facebook pages and community meetings alike. It's not just a pretty picture—it's a platform for discourse, as the piece literally climbs the walls of a public institution in a quiet Boston suburb. Andy Rodrigue, a neighbor and parent at Kilmer K-8 School, implied the intrinsic value of such activations, telling Boston Art Review, "I’m at a loss to say why people would feel as though these qualities don't belong in a public schoolyard," highlighting public art's potential to animate and enrich communal environments.

Like it or not, "Together, We Rise" makes its mark and invites onlookers to rise above mere aesthetics, pondering public art's rightful place in their lived environment, provocation certainly seems part of the piece's fabric as Detour notes the strong attachment residents have to their neighborhood aesthetics, his project disrupting the status quo. Arianne O’Connor, the Kilmer art teacher behind the initial application, looks to the brighter side of the spectrum, echoing the positive impact and excitement felt by many—a chain reaction of community engagement and pride, reportedly shared by Boston Art Review.