PROJECT DESCRIPTION

In 2003, FAC commissioned Groundswell to paint a mural on the adjacent building that would lead people from 4th Avenue, around the corner to the doors of this new center. Research for the mural began with focus groups with each of the departments that make up FAC. Each department was asked to propose a representation of their role in the FAC community and present it as a living tableaux. The photographs of these tableaux's were then used to develop a design that represented all the facets of FAC's work. In 2002, FAC celebrated their 25th Anniversary. Throughout the mural can be found the dates of significant events in these 25 years.

The mural begins with a woman watering a plant, an image of FAC’s nurturing of their community. The founding date, 1977 is on the watering can. Around the table sit four staff members who have been instrumental in the growth and development of FAC. On the edge of the vacant lot in which they are sitting is a building under construction, representing the over 300 units of affordable housing FAC has developed in the neighborhood. The building is being embraced by a man whose arms reach around the corner. His is the face of the community embracing the construction of affordable housing, the key to which he holds in his left hand. Around the corner, a group of tenants are meeting on a brownstone stoop. In 1980, FAC helped to organize the fist tenants union in lower Park Slope. In the crowd are many of FACS important organizers.

The DeGraw Street wall is divided into boxes, each one representing a department from FAC. A truck has the date 1995 on its license plate. This is the year FAC incorporated Red Hook on the Road, an organization that trains commercial truck drivers and helps them find employment. A baby's hand holds a flower in front of a garden, signifying the community gardens that FAC has helped develop throughout the neighborhood. A man breaks the chains that bind his wrists. On the chains can be found the date, 2000 - the year FAC incorporated Developing Justice, a job training program for ex-prison inmates. A megaphone shouts "Injustice everywhere is a threat to justice anywhere," (Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.) referencing the work of FAC's campaigns department. A pen writes "Far from water I am full of the sound of water"(The City in Which I love You, Li Young-Lee). The writing symbolizes FAC's literacy program for immigrants, the quote taken from Li Young-Lee, himself an Indonesian immigrant, who writes about the immigrant experience in the USA. Around the door, a hand holds a ruler upon which are written the words, "Dignity, Justice, Equity and Sustainability", values by which FAC measures their success. The final scene is a block party, with the diverse population of the neighborhood celebrating with energy and enthusiasm the community values FAC represents.

This project was made possible by funding and support from: Fifth Avenue Committee, Valspar Paints and Lowe's.