New ArtBridge Murals Feature East River Houses Residents
Two new murals by artists Dario Mohr and JR were recently unveiled by ArtBridge and NYC Health + Hospitals. The murals are located on the scaffolding of Metropolitan Hospital, located on 2nd Avenue between 97th Street and 99th Street in East Harlem. Both artists collaborated with East River Houses residents on developing the murals through a series of workshops and community engagement events.
ArtBridge is a public art nonprofit that works with artists to create new art on construction fencing and scaffolding in New York City. Last year, the organization finalized the installation of more than 50 public artworks on sidewalk sheds and construction fencing at 16 NYCHA developments.
The two new murals span 220 feet of construction scaffolding. Dario Mohr’s work, Adinkrahene, features Adinkra symbols originating from the Asante Kingdom, as well as Adinkra symbols young people from East River Houses contributed to the work. The Peoples’ Art Project, created by artist/activist JR, features black and white images of East Harlem residents, including many from East River Houses. It is part of the Inside Out Project, his international participatory project which features nearly 600,000 photos contributed from 152 countries intended to spark conversations and collaborations that lead to social change.
“It has been an absolute pleasure working with ArtBridge to connect NYCHA’s artistic community to canvasses in unexpected places around New York City,” said NYCHA Chief Executive Officer Lisa Bova-Hiatt. “I’d like to extend my congratulations to the residents of East River Houses for their contributions to these wonderful new pieces in East Harlem. Their collaboration served as an invaluable inspiration for these unique murals that will do so much to visually enrich their neighborhood.”
The installation was made possible by the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs’ City Canvas program, which transforms sidewalks sheds, construction fencing, and scaffolding into platforms for public art, and sponsorship from Core Scaffold Systems. After the scaffolding is taken down, Metropolitan Hospital will host a permanent display of the murals. To learn more about the murals and watch a video about the project, visit NYC Health + Hospitals.