Resident-Designed Murals Adorn the Rutland Towers Lobby

The lobby of NYCHA’s Rutland Towers is full of color. On one wall, a long mural shows smiling children running through a field, coming towards the viewer as though they are about to burst into the lobby. The opposite wall shows a placid community scene: People sit on a bench as trees cast shade on the sidewalk. 

The murals were inspired by ideas from Rutland Towers residents. “It’s an expression of the building,” said long-serving Resident Association President Jennifer Barbour.  

Beyond reflecting the broad community, the residents also wanted the murals to depict Ms. Barbour, to commemorate her work as president. Her likeness stands by a bench in one of the murals, looking serenely into the lobby. “I felt honored,” she said. “You don’t get that every day.”  

The murals are one of many improvements coming to the development through the Permanent Affordability Commitment Together (PACT) program. In 2023, NYCHA finalized a PACT deal to invest $635.6 million in 15 developments around east Brooklyn, including Rutland Towers. The deal is a public-private partnership with co-developers BRP Companies, Fairstead, and Urbane. The PACT program has already begun to provide upgrades to apartments, façade repairs, mechanical system modernization, enhanced security, and new on-site social services at many of the developments. Shared common spaces are also an important part of the program.  

“We know that art is placemaking, and we want to make sure that we aren’t just checking off the capital needs but really making sure that this is a place folks are proud to call home and show off to their friends,” said Katelyn Andrews, Director of Public Affairs at Fairstead. 

To find an artist who could help bring that vision to life, Fairstead reached out to the Black Art Vanguard, a New York City-based artists’ organization. The group connected Fairstead with Barrington Brissett, a portrait artist who grew up in East New York, not far from Rutland Towers. 

Mr. Brissett began by meeting with Rutland Towers residents. Over several months, Mr. Brissett held workshops with residents to brainstorm ideas and get feedback on his drafts. Residents wanted a mural “where the kids could really see themselves,” Mr. Brissett said, which served as inspiration for the lobby’s left wall. “What is it that all kids love? They love running at full speed,” Mr. Brissett said, and so he drafted the cheerful scene of children in the field. He spent six weeks in the building working on the paintings.  

“Style-wise, I wanted everything to be bright,” Mr. Brissett noted. “It’s in the lobby, and a lot of times people are just passing through. So I chose mostly primary colors, bright pinks, yellows, blues, something that will make people stop.” 

Mr. Brissett said his favorite part of the mural is the depiction of Ms. Barbour. 

Ms. Barbour has lived in Rutland Towers for 19 years. She first joined the tenant association board as the vice president in 2010. A few years later, however, the board dissolved. Ms. Barbour helped revitalize the board and ultimately decided to run for president. 

When the PACT program came to Rutland Towers, Ms. Barbour was involved from the very beginning, showing Fairstead around the building and passing along information from her tenants about what needed to be done. She also worked to help residents understand the Section 8 program and sign their new PACT leases.  

“That’s the important part of the tenant association – you have to associate with the tenants and try to get them to know what’s going on,” she said. 

She believes that beautifying the common spaces in the building can give residents a sense of ownership, especially the younger generations: “It gives the youth an incentive of what to do and how to move along.” 

Mr. Brissett hopes the work will inspire kids to try art for themselves. “In East New York, I didn’t really grow up with a lot of art programs or things like that,” he said. “I’m hoping that these murals can inspire kids to get more in tune with art as another option that they can pursue.” 

Fairstead is working on renovating 14 other developments in the area through the PACT program and plans to run a similar mural process at each development. “Every single mural will turn out a little differently, and that’s guided by the residents and what they want to see in their community,” Ms. Andrews explained.  

At the very least, Ms. Barbour hopes the Rutland Towers artwork will spark joy for her fellow residents: “When they come out, they want to see brightness, not dark.”

Photo credit: SLM Architecture (1st 3 photos); Fairstead (bottom 2 photos)