Inspire Arts CT Mural Collaborative Art & Community Connection in Avon, Connecticut

During the summer of 2025, Connecticut ABI Waiver participants involved with The Supported Living Group’s Inspire Arts CT creative collaborative came together at SLG’s Avon, Connecticut, location for a collaborative mural project designed to transform the program’s courtyard into a vibrant and welcoming healing and creative space.

Working alongside professional mural artist Valeria Roncoli of Art Plus Studio, Inspire Arts participants explored color, imagery, creativity, and collaboration while contributing their own ideas and artistic perspectives to the mural. The project provided Connecticut ABI Waiver participants living with acquired brain injury with an opportunity to engage in meaningful creative expression while working alongside peers, staff, and a professional artist.

A woman standing and speaking to a group of people seated around a conference table in a meeting room. The woman is holding a tablet showing a floral image. The group includes diverse individuals, some taking notes, with plants and colorful artwork on the walls and large windows providing natural light.
Group of people painting a large colorful mural on a wall outdoors, some sitting, some standing, with painting supplies nearby.
Woman painting a colorful mural on a white wooden wall.
A person painting a mural on a white wooden wall with black line art designs.
An elderly man wearing a baseball cap and a plaid shirt, smiling and sitting outdoors while painting a large mural on a wall with colorful abstract faces.

The mural became more than a piece of artwork. It became a representation of community, creativity, connection, inclusion, and recovery—principles that are central to the Inspire Arts CT creative collaborative and The Supported Living Group’s approach to community-based brain injury services.

The creative process also had an impact beyond the participants themselves. The spirit of creativity and play extended throughout the Avon program, with staff becoming part of the experience and helping create an environment where participants could experiment, contribute, and enjoy the process of making something together.

Today, the completed mural remains a permanent feature of The Supported Living Group’s Avon, CT location, providing a colorful reminder of the creativity and contributions of the CT ABI Waiver participants who helped bring it to life.

For individuals living with acquired brain injury, opportunities such as this can provide much more than an enjoyable activity. Creative expression can support confidence, identity, social connection, community integration, and the development of meaningful routines. The Inspire Arts CT program creates opportunities for ABI Waiver participants to explore these possibilities through painting, sculpture, woodworking, mixed media, collaborative projects, and other forms of artistic expression.

The Avon mural demonstrates what can happen when professional artists, ABI Waiver participants, support staff, and the community come together around a shared creative goal.

At Inspire Arts CT, we believe that art has the power to transform spaces—but more importantly, it can create opportunities for people to discover their abilities, share their perspectives, build relationships, and contribute something meaningful to their community.

The mural at The Supported Living Group’s Avon location is a lasting example of that philosophy in action.

A backyard patio with a wooden deck, a fountain with water cascading over a black spherical sculpture, potted plants, a colorful mural on the wall, and a person sitting at a table under a black and white striped umbrella.
People creating a colorful mural of flowers and faces on an outdoor wall, with some sitting and others standing, using paint and brushes.

This partnership was about far more than creating a mural—it provided an opportunity for empowerment, connection, personal expression, and continued growth through the creative process.

Logo with the words 'ART + STUDIO' over a colorful, abstract swirl with splatter effects.
A smiling woman with glasses and a headband holding a marker standing next to a colorful outdoor mural.
A group of diverse women painting a colorful mural on a wall outdoors.