New York Mural Arts Project
In January 2022, I was chosen to be lead artist for the New York Mural Arts Project (NYCMAP) in partnership with Chelton Loft in East Harlem. NYCMAP utilizes a collaborative art-making process to reduce the stigma associated with mental illness by generating dialogue between community-based mental health service providers, persons living with mental illness, certified peer specialists, professional mural artists, and the community at-large.
Together with Felix Guzman, a certified peer specialist, we led weekly mental health discussions and integrated arts activities with the members of Chelton Loft to work towards a cohesive mural design that addresses the stigmas associated with mental illness. Through monthly Open Studio events and a Community Design Review, we incorporated feedback from the community to inform our design.
This 3- month long design process yielded a powerful theme and mural concept: "Mental Health is Community Health.” The design employs visual metaphors and symbols to illustrate the pain and difficulty of living with a mental health condition while conveying hope for recovery through community support, self-compassion, access to quality care, and connection to your roots.
My dear friend and long time muse, the marvelous @nailsbyshani is the protagonist of the mural, demonstrating the self care and community support that beauty salons and barber shops offer the community, providing a space for people to connect with eachother and let their hair down - literally and figuratively, while pampering themselves and practicing self care. As she gets her hair done, Shani is tending to an aloe plant, a powerful symbol of self compassion and the importance of self agency in the healing process.
The black dog at Shani’s side represents the heavy depression and dark days that come and go with mental illness, and in the corner we see a young man being comforted by a friend, a drawing done by the talented @ellijahart. The plants in the mural all have healing properties: chamomile, lavender, chrysanthemums and aloe, and the phoenix represents rebirth and triumph after recovery.
The mural design was painted on polytab cloth over a period of 3 months, through a collaborative process that involved the members of Chelton Loft and community members of East Harlem. On June 19th, 2022, I and a hardworking group of assistants installed the mural on Ascendant Heritage Building on the corner of 104th and Madison Ave.
