| On the one year anniversary of Superstorm Sandy’s rampage through New York City, Groundswell dedicates a mural on the famed Bowery Wall (Houston and Bowery in Manhattan) celebrating the recovery efforts made by affected communities and reminding others that there is still work to be done. Groundswell will unveil the temporary display of this collaboration between Groundswell teen artists and renowned street artist Swoon with a dedication ceremony on October 29.
As a part of Groundswell’s larger city-wide Sandy Recovery mural series, this installation ties together four permanent murals installed in outer borough neighborhoods deeply impacted by the storm, include Coney Island, Far Rockaway, Red Hook, and Staten Island. These murals were completed by two teams of youth this past summer under Groundswell’s Summer Leadership Institute youth employment program, a program generously supported by Variety the Children’s Charity of New York. Each community-based mural was researched, designed, and fabricated through a collaborative mural-making process under the guidance of Swoon and professional teaching artists with the help of a local partner in each neighborhood. As youth participant Tasleem Sheik explained, “This project showed me that murals spread so much awareness. I live in Staten Island, the ‘forgotten borough,’ which was really affected by Hurricane Sandy. Working with Groundswell was so important because through the mural, we could recognize and help the victims of Sandy in my community. Our mural-making team came together as a big family even though we all came from different places because we all knew this mural was essential for those affected by Sandy.” As a testament to both resilience and vulnerability, these four permanent murals and the temporary Bowery Wall installation will serve to highlight the importance of continued relief efforts by and for Sandy’s victims. To learn more about Groundswell’s Sandy Recovery mural projects, check out our latest video We Rose Above: Healing Communities Through Public Art: www.vimeo.com/76556474. |
Grants Spotlight: Groundswell
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