Outside the doors of the Teen Center at the Boys & Girls Club of Elgin, a colorful mural hangs thanks to four special artists.  Abigail Torres, Flavio Gomez Arroyo, Simply Daniel Escamilla, and Tracy Ibarra collaborated on the large mural to help inspire the children of the Club.

The title of the mural is The Spirit of Youth.  “The title says it all,” a smiling artist Tracy Ibarra explains.  The energy depicted in the mural and its vibrant colors draw people to it.  “The purpose of the mural is to encourage children to follow their individual imaginations and encourage them to think differently,” one of the artists, Simply Daniel Escamilla, explains.  “It will also give inspiration for the next generation of young artists in our community,” adds Flavio Arroyo.

All four artists agree that the Boys & Girls Club of Elgin is the perfect place to hang their mural.  “Simply put, there is no better place to hang the mural!  The goal of the mural and the Boys & Girls Club is the same.  If we want to better our community, there is no better way but to teach the youth they can accomplish great things,” Escamilla explains.  “And we would like to inspire children of all ages to think about art and express themselves,” adds Abigail Torres.

The public is welcome to see for the mural for themselves.  The artists will unveil the piece on Friday, October 30^th, and anyone is welcome to visit the Club from noon to 4pm.  “In addition we would like to invite anyone from the community to visit our Club for a tour anytime,” says Rose Reinert, Executive Director of the Boys & Girls Club of Elgin.  “We are open Monday through Friday; just call us at 847-608-5017 to schedule a time to visit.  You will be able to see an inspirational piece of artwork and see the wonderful things that we do here at the Boys & Girls Club of Elgin!”