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Author: Brian Johnson

Melrose Disability Pride Mural 2026

This is a large mural painted on a smooth surface that is twelve feet wide and eight feet tall, which is mounted on a brick wall on the Melrose YMCA at the corner of Main St. and East Foster St. This mural was created at Follow Your Art Community Studios, designed and painted by Emmi Kilgallen, Chiara Pieri, and Kris Rodolico. The mural has a dark charcoal gray background with the colors of Disability Pride (green, blue, white, yellow, red) in wide horizontal stripes that are edged in black running across the whole mural. In the center is a large heart shape with stylized text inside each color stripe. “Access is” is written in dark green text written on the green stripe at the top of the heart shape. “Solidarity Is” is written in dark blue text on the blue stripe. “Disability” is outlined in black across the white stripe. “Justice Is” is written in dark yellow across the yellow stripe. “Love” is written in dark red across the bottom red stripe. Together, the text reads “Access is Solidarity is Disability Justice is Love” The text is attributed to Alice Wong, whose name appears in black lettering in the lower right corner of the mural. *Pause* This year the Melrose Commission on Disability chose to honor the life and work of Disability activist Alice Wong who lived from 1974 to 2025. Alice was born with spinal muscular atrophy and used a motorized chair and assistive ventilator most of her life. Alice Wong founded the “Disability Visibility Project”. It amplifies disability media, culture, and history through oral histories, essays, and a popular Disability Visibility podcast. This year, Melrose received one of the largest municipal grants offered by the Massachusetts Office on Disability to continue increasing accessibility in our schools, public buildings and public spaces. The Melrose Commission on Disability works to ensure ADA policy compliance and voting accessibility, hosts awareness-raising programs, and collaborates with the Melrose Special Education Parent Advisory Committee. This year the commission created an accessibility guide for community events and organizations. Thank you for celebrating Disability Pride Month! Visual description written and developed by Garin Boyd

Courtesy Melrose Messenger: The Melrose Commission on Disability kicked off July, which is Disability Pride Month, with the dedication of a new mural on the side of the YMCA building. View the mural This is the third year that artists from Follow Your Art, led by Kris Rodolico, have painted a mural to recognize Disability […]

Follow Your Art: Art of Words V

Visual Description Tour

Follow Your Art Community Art Studios has had a gallery show consisting of artists and writers. For this show, a visual description piece has been added.