hope’s flight
van nuys airport, ca
900 sq/ft
Hope’s Flight was created on a Learjet 75, turning a once-static aircraft into a vessel of imagination, healing, and limitless possibility. In collaboration with the youth at Casa Esperanza, our mural session invited participants to dream freely, imagining flights to other planets, journeys through time, and the freedom of soaring like birds. One powerful image emerged from our early conversations: a bird that remained in its cage, even though the door was wide open. By the end of our time together, the students reimagined that image into something new—a peregrine falcon flying through the cosmos, fast and fearless. This mural captures that spirit of transformation, where imagination becomes momentum and hope takes flight.
Where Imagination Took Flight
We held three sessions with the after-school program at Casa Esperanza in Panorama City, just a few miles from where Carlo grew up. This made the project especially meaningful for us. Each session invited the students to engage with themes of imagination, healing, and self-expression. From the first day, their creativity came alive through drawing prompts, storytelling, and conversations about what it means to fly without limits. We saw a noticeable shift in confidence as they moved from hesitation to full participation, contributing bold ideas about space, time, and transformation. These sessions laid the emotional groundwork for the mural, turning the aircraft into a canvas for their dreams.
Painting a Future Together
To bring this vision to life, we partnered with Arts Bridging the Gap and hosted a community paint day that united families, students, and supporters around a shared cause: expanding access to public art. Volunteers painted alongside the youth, contributing brushstrokes to a Learjet transformed by their imagination. The day served as both a celebration and a fundraiser, channeling energy into a movement that champions creativity, belonging, and opportunity. It was a joyful moment of community connection, where each painted panel stood as a reminder of what can happen when we invest in the voices and visions of young people.