TROY: TEENS TO EXHIBIT ANTIDRUG MESSAGES THROUGH PUBLIC ART

Two City Murals Will Feature Their Ideas

Nearly every teenager with access to television has heard
advertisements that pose the question, "What's your antidrug?"

This summer, Troy high school students are expected to answer the
question in a colorful way.

The Troy Community Coalition is organizing a project that calls for
local high schoolers to design and paint two antidrug murals in the
city -- one in the teen room at the Troy Community Center and one at
the city skate park off Livernois.

The goal is to find one more way to get the antidrug message across
and give teens a way to showcase their artistic talents, said Ann
Comiskey, executive director of the Troy Community Coalition, an area
organization that works to keep young people off drugs, alcohol and
tobacco.

"We want the kids in Troy to present their ideas about what keeps them
off drugs. Is it music? Parents? Friends? Sports? What keeps them drug
free?" Comiskey said.

There are 26 such murals across the country, but the project is new to
the Troy community, she said. The cost of the project, which is
expected to be less than $5,000, should be covered by a grant from the
Target Corp., Comiskey said. The coalition has also applied for a
grant through the Oakland County Arts Council, in case the expense
exceeds the amount of the expected Target grant, she said.

There's certainly a need to get the word out.

Results from a 2003 Troy Community Coalition survey of more than 4,000
Troy eighth-, 10th- and 12th-grade students indicated that nearly 11
percent of about 700 12th-graders had tried cocaine, 8 percent had
tried crack and 9 percent tried heroin.

"This project will allow the students to use their creativity to get
their message out, but it also gives adults the chance to see that not
all kids are bad. They're not all doing drugs or other risky things.
That's a message that doesn't get out nearly enough," Comiskey said.

Seventeen-year-old Troy High School senior Katie Beyer said the murals
may not combat teen drug use on their own, but as part of the big
picture, they can be effective.

"I don't think a mural changes teens' minds, but there's no way to go
wrong with it. The more you say it, the more people will listen," she
said. "I think it increases your antidrug attitudes. I think it
enforces what you're doing and what you feel is right."

But 18-year-old Cranbrook Kingswood Upper School senior Eric Gregory
disagrees. Gregory, who serves on the Troy Youth Council, said drug
use is a more personal issue than city government and service
organizations can address.

"It's a personal decision whether or not to use drugs, and it should
be addressed in the family," he said.

"I think the coalition tries to come off as saying this is the
community's opinion, but I think there are a lot of diverse opinions
on this issue," Gregory said, adding there is a huge drug problem
among Troy teens.

So far, the coalition has received Troy City Council approval to paint
the mural at the community center, and expects approval for the skate
park site, Comiskey said.

If the murals look anything like those across the country, they'll
feature musical instruments or sports themes, activities that keep
kids involved rather than lured by drugs and smoking, Comiskey said.

Troy resident Nan Cowan, the project's lead artist, met with Troy high
school art students Feb. 10 to discuss their possible participation in
the project. As lead artist, Cowan will help the students select
materials and design the murals.

"Art teaches students critical thinking skills. You always have to
stay open to new ideas. You have to say, 'What if? What if?' " Cowan
said.

But what the murals will mean for views about drugs is yet to be
determined, she said.

"Does art really change minds? Does it change the world? It's an
age-old debate in the art community. It certainly should move the
viewer. But to change the viewer -- that's the benchmark of good art,"
Cowan said. "I would say yes, art does create change, one individual
at a time."