The Color Collaborative proudly announces the celebration and completion of an Imagined Worlds mural on Dwight Street in Holyoke, in partnership with the Children’s Museum at Holyoke. The celebration and ribbon cutting will be at the mural wall at 787 Dwight Street in Holyoke on Friday, September 19 at 4pm.
Imagined Worlds poses a powerful and timely question: What would a world look like where you feel happy and safe? Through an art therapy-informed art activity at the Children’s Museum, youth explored this question and created artwork to reflect their visions of joy and belonging. Sharona Color incorporated youth artwork into the final design for the mural.

Unlike traditional murals, this piece was created in an experimental collage-style, combining a wild mix of techniques not often seen at this scale. The design features sweeping paint gestures made with brooms, massive seven-foot flower petals appliquéd directly to the wall, layered textures, and glitter. “I approached this mural with a sense of play and experimentation because the kids’ artwork that inspired the mural was so free and uninhibited,” said Sharon Leshner, also known as Sharona Color. “Their scribbles, shapes, and wild ideas inspired us to push the boundaries of what a mural can be.”

The mural is further inspired by the Neighbor 2 Neighbor Community Garden across the street, a space where local residents gather to cultivate food, friendship, and connection. In addition, the project includes a Little Free Library, curated by local ESL teacher Lucia Montalvo, alongside UMass Public Health PhD candidates Damien Leach and Geraldine Puerto. The library will feature bilingual books and mental health resources, ensuring the mural site serves not only as a place of beauty but also as a hub of community care and learning.

The Color Collaborative is a nonprofit public art organization that transforms people and places through community-engaged murals. As a full-service design studio, it partners with schools, municipalities, nonprofits, and businesses to create murals that breathe life into spaces while supporting mental health and mindfulness.

The mural is generously supported by The Beveridge Family Foundation, The Irene E. & George A. Davis Foundation, M&T Charitable Foundation, the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts, the Mass Cultural Council, the Carlos Vega Fund, Clayton Insurance and Summerlin Floors.

The mural was designed by Sharon Leshner (Sharona Color) and fabricated with assistance from Gabriela Sepulveda, with spray painting by SELF.