Traditional Medicine Project , Esteli, Nicaragua

Fresco with Funarte art workers

Founded in 1987 by The Boanerges Cerrato Painters' Collective in Managua, Nicaragua and then transferred to Esteli, Nicaragua in 1989, the Children's Muralism Workshops have brought to young people and children in Managua and Esteli a drop-in, totally free program of painting workshops and mural making for over 25 years.

Casa comunal, BoOscar Gamez, Esteli, Nicaragua

Now incorporated as the Foundation for the Promotion of Children's Creativity (FUNARTE in Spanish), the workshops continue the original program whose educators are the children who came to the first workshops.

FUNARTE has turned Esteli into the 'city of murals' with many of the walls in the city and the county covered the children's work. The project has secured funding from international NGOs and support from local and national authorities for decades.

A methodological guide to how the mural workshops were started and work was published, titled CHILDREN’S MURAL WORKSHOPS and can be downloaded for free here.

Janet Pavone continues to serve as a consultant for the project and visits annually.

Check out FUNARTE for more details.