A SMASHING SUCCESS!
THE ELECTRIC BLOCKS, Portland Oregon
GraffLab attendees practicing thier skills.
On Monday, August 11th, 2025, PSAA officially kicked off the inaugural GraffLabstreet art workshop with fifteen talented teens aged 13-17.
The day started with PSAA co-founders Tiffany Conklin & Tomas Valladares leading the group through the Electric Blocks, where students discovered the incredible diversity of street art right in the Central Eastside. Back at the workshop, master style writer and muralist Devin Finley taught the fundamentals of graffiti art, while Portland street art legends RX Skulls and Voxx Romana shared insights into different artistic approaches. Past PSAA YAE! Camp participant Saphya Lones also inspired the group with her journey as a young artist.
Street Art Tour let by PSAA co-founders.
Stickers by RX Skulls, Voxx Romana, and Wokeface.
After fueling up with pizza from Baby Doll Pizza, the real magic began. Under the expert guidance of lead artist Devin Finley and assistant artist Galen Malcolm, teens learned spray can techniques, cap selection, and proper form. Starting with a blank wall, they practiced their skills before collaborating on an incredible group mural that showcased their creativity and natural talent.
We were truly inspired by these young artists! It was thrilling to watch them freely express themselves with spray paint. The impact speaks for itself; 87% of participants rated their experience as "Excellent" and an incredible 93% gained confidence in their street art skills. What moved us most? Nearly all participants (93%) said the workshop inspired them to continue exploring street art, and 100% would recommend GraffLab to other teens!
Most of our participants (93%) came in as complete beginners with little to no street art experience, yet by day's end, 60% felt "much more confident" in their abilities. The hands-on spray painting techniques were the clear favorite activity, followed by creating the collaborative group mural together.
PSAA strongly believes in mentoring the next generation of artists and aims to provide support and opportunities as these teens continue their art careers. This pilot program continues PSAA's mission to empower teens through creative expression in public space, nurturing personal growth, community connections, and artistic leadership. The workshop builds on the success of PSAA's previous youth programs - Street ED (2021) and YAE! Camp (2018-2019) - and represents a key step toward developing a scalable, community-rooted youth arts education model.
The teens' feedback is already shaping our future programming. Many requested more wall space for practice and longer workshop formats - challenges we're excited to tackle as we expand GraffLab next year! Thank you to everyone who made this workshop possible and to the amazing teens who continue to inspire us! We are excited about what the future holds and are looking to continue to expand GraffLab programming to inspire and teach future generations.
Massive thanks to our teaching artists and our incredible funding partners Miller Foundation and Killian Pacific. Special appreciation to our sponsors Baby Doll Pizza, Artist and Craftsman Supply in North Portland, Montana Cans, and Fred Meyer for providing the fuel and materials that made this possible. Most importantly, thank you to the parents/guardians for supporting their teens’ interests, and the amazing teens who brought such energy and creativity to our first GraffLab!
