July 2021 | By Cecilia Lueza
A Colorful Summer
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So far, this summer has been full of new challenges, new places to visit and three successful public art installations.
Our journey began the first week of June, when we left St Pete to do a site visit for a future project in Chattanooga TN. Afterwards we made a stop in Fayetteville NC to drop off a sculpture for their annual city-wide sculpture exhibition organized by the Arts Council of Fayetteville.
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The next day we were on our way to Jersey City, where we spent nine lovely and exhausting days creating two large murals in the city’s historic Hamilton Park neighborhood. If you ever go to JC make a point to visit their beautiful Liberty Park, where the views of the Manhattan’s skyline are quite magical. There you can also admire and contemplate the striking 9/11 memorial.
Jersey City has the most amazing number of murals I’ve ever seen, 218 to date. Initiated in 2013, the Jersey City Mural Arts Program is a Mayor’s Office Initiative that links established and emerging local, national and international mural artists with property owners city-wide as part of an innovative beautification program that reduces graffiti, engages local residents and is transforming Jersey City into an outdoor art gallery
As soon as we were back home, we got to work on our next move which became the first painted intersection in downtown Clearwater. The design had to capture the beauty and vibrancy of our Gulf Coast in an abstract yet dynamic and colorful way. So I came up with a geometric design that activates the intersection while providing a welcoming focal point for downtown Clearwater.
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The project is part of the Downtown Clearwater Mural Program, an initiative by the the City of Clearwater’s Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) in partnership with the Clearwater Public Art and Design Program. Their goal is to build community pride, encourage a stronger community identity and provide visual landmarks for the city.
Soon we’ll be on our way to Reno NV to deliver and permanently install one of our earliest sculptures, Dual Nature, in the city’s Millennial Park.
For more info and photos on our recent mural projects visit lueza.com.
