The Madison Arts Commission endorsed a program Tuesday to help build the local hip-hop artists community, a mural series on Verona Road and a community art project on Campus Drive.

On a 7-0 vote, the committee unanimously endorsed the Protect the Mic initiative to designate October as “Hip-Hop Month.” The committee also recommended that the City Council establish a task force to focus on equity of entertainment in Madison.

Committee members Cedric Johnson and Yvette Pino both called the program a “great idea.”

Karen Reece of Protect the Mic said the program aims to build a community of hip-hop artists in Madison, as well as increase the city’s appreciation and acceptance of the genre.

“The idea here is that, as leaders of the hip-hop movement, we’ll be demonstrating unity,” Reece said. “One of the things we’ve really struggled with [is] creating relationships across the hip-hop world. … We want to start a process that can build bridges from the streets to UW.”

The meeting included a discussion of the Verona Road Project, a series of murals designed by local artist Marsha Yapp that would go up in several places around the community. The committee approved the project on a 6-1 vote.

Yapp displayed her murals to the committee and expressed her eagerness to work with the Madison community on the project.

“The imagery for me is abundance,” Yapp said. “The people represent that.”

Dane Arts Director Mark Fraire also told the committee he hopes to help the organization raise money for the creative community and connect more businesses to the arts.

The committee also passed a unanimous motion to recommend that City Council approve an amendment to a $140,000 grant for a public art project beneath Campus Drive at the Walnut Street and Highland Avenue underpasses.