Community Mural Action Program, 2009

Location: The Urban Assembly School of Music and Art at Waters Edge 49 Flatbush Avenue Ext (Downtown Brooklyn)

Lead Artist: Bayunga Kialeuka

Assistant Artist: Jessica Poplawski

Youth Artists: Khari Williams, Jeanette Collado, Alexander Apple-Hope, Danielle Jordan, Daquan Jordan, Victoria Ortiz, Johnathon Rodriquez, Wesley Kalu, Lance White

Community Partners: Tillary Park Foundation, CM Tish James

Medium: Acrylic on parachute cloth

Dimensions: Seven panels:

Panel A: 8 ft. x 10 ft.
Panel B: 8 ft. x 10 ft.
Panel C: 8 ft. x 10 ft.
Panel D: 8 ft. x 10 ft.
Panel E: 8 ft. x 15 ft.
Panel F: 8 ft. x 15 ft.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The goal of the project was to illustrate modern life in developing Brooklyn communities.  It was a concept developed from research about the19th Century immigrant laborers that built the Brooklyn Bridge.  In early discussions about the experiences of immigrants, constructing the bridge with those of Irish and Chinese workers who built the transcontinental railroad, completed in 1869, participants explored the comparison of the current economical trends and their affects on the changing labor force of Brooklyn today. 

The communities created as a result of the expanding economies of Brooklyn during construction of the bridge is reminiscent of today’s technological advancements in computer software and internet communications.  Brooklyn in the post 9/11 New York experienced a population boom similar to that of a century ago.  It is from these circumstances that participants based the theme of private moments that residents of these communities live daily. 

These private snapshots allow for the environment to play a far greater role in revealing the pulse of contemporary Brooklyn life.  While the community grows in culture and personalities, the abundance of socialization further influences the sense of isolation that its new workforce endures. 

The idea of living among family is redefined by stacking strangers as roommates in spaces once ago designed for single families.  Much as living quarters in post civil war mining townships were owned by the very companies for whom they worked for, gentrification in Brooklyn morphs into the ultimate housing business for young professionals.