Muralists seek to preserve the city’s murals

Photo credit: Chine Labbe

In El Barrio, wall painting is a lasting art form. The Spirit of East Harlem, at the southeast corner of East 104^th Street and Lexington Avenue, has been in the community for more than 30 years. An ode to the neighborhood’s day-to-day lifestyle, it covers the entire façade of a building and depicts local people playing chess, chatting and taking care of their children, among other activities. “It is one of the great landmark murals of New York City,” muralist Janet Braun-Reinitz said. “I don’t know if the world has mural masterpieces, but The Spirit of (East) Harlem comes close,” local artist Manuel Vega said.

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Hunts Point Graffiti Artists Reach for Respect

Photo Credit: Ashlee Fairey

A strong September sun beat down on the tar roof of 940 Garrison Avenue. Drops of diligence dripped down the faces of TATS CRU on Sept. 15 as they painted graffiti murals on approved wall space above The Point, a Hunts Point community arts center in the south Bronx.

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By Chine Labbe
October 22, 2009

Photo Credit: Rob Sgobbo

Tats Cru did it, will arts funding follow?

By Rob Sgobbo
October 8, 2009

Even with cars rumbling nearby on the Bruckner Expressway, the hisses of spray paint canisters were clearly audible. Red, purple and blue paint dot the roof of The Point Community Development Corporation, located in the Hunts Point neighborhood of the South Bronx. Read the full story