Wise Girls Johanna Callard and Annie Philips of the Carson Center look over a display, the "Wise Girls Mural Project", currently on exhibit in the Westfield Athenaeum. The project will be shown at the athenaeum until the end of February when it will be moved to the Westfield High School. The exhibit is sponsored by the Carson Center of Westfield. (Photo by Frederick Gore) Lessons learned from mural By EMILY TAFT WESTFIELD - The Westfield Athenaeum Library added a new collection to its walls this month. For the second time this year the library is displaying a mural created by the Wise Girls on its wall in the Teen Loft area. "We have recently renovated the area where we decided to put the mural," said Daniel Paquette, the head of youth services at the library. "We then held a reception for the students and their families." The Wise Girls Mural Project is an endeavor for high school-age girls developed by clinicians at the Carson Center for Children & Youth. "The group is focused on empowering young women to express themselves through art-making," said Johanna Callard, leader of the Wise Girls Mural Project. "The girls identify a message they want to express to their community, conceptualize a design, and collaborate on creating a mural." The mural currently on display is titled, "We Support Awareness," and is made of four puzzle pieces, each of which supports awareness about a particular issue. In this work the four pieces represent cancer, drugs, AIDS, and self-injury-suicide. The group runs for fourteen sessions and focuses on empowerment and self-esteem building for the female teens. "The group was created for girls who have an interest in art, but only a willingness to learn is necessary," said Callard. Throughout the sessions the girls learn a lot about themselves and develop skills to work with others. "This group transformed me, and I got to put who I am out there and learn about other girls while they learned about me, and we all met new friends," one participant said. The mural will be on display until February 27th, and the next Wise Girls Mural Project will be starting on February 28th. Enrollment is still open, and those interested or seeking more information may contact Johanna Callard or Annie Philips at 568-1421.