"... Will be Black" | Bringing Back Bowery
The remnants of previous graffiti peek out underneath splotches of black paint added to the plywood. Each of the three black areas of the panels features careful white outlines of different fragments of a scene described by a quote in the upper left corner, carefully and clearly written out to read:
"To you black was the color of priests and undertakers and orphans. But everything is changing. Whatever is gentle and kind and good and tender will be black. Milk will be black, sugar, rice, the sky, doves, hope, will be black. SO will the opera to which we shall go, blacks that we are, in black Rolls Royces to hail blacks kings, to hear brass bands beneath chandeliers of blacks crystal..." - Jean Genet, '58
The plywood mural depicts figures from the play "Les Nègres" ("The Blacks"), a work by playwright Jean Genet that was published in 1958 and performed for the first time in 1959. The play is reliant upon the structure of a production within the production itself, exploring Black identity while exposing racial prejudice and stereotypes by shocking and implicating the audience.
Izhar Patkin
Posted by @Bringing_Back_Bowery on Instagram. Caption: "Mural by @izharpatkin at @2coopersquare for @bringing_back_bowery"
Urban Art Mapping Research Project
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=40&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=2020-07-07">2020-07-07</a>
F.S.
Artists: Izhar Patkin
Image: @Bringing_Back_Bowery on Instagram
2 Cooper Sq New York, NY, 10003
All Black Trans Queer Nonbinary Street Mural, Oakland, CA
All Black Trans Queer Nonbinary Woman Disabled Imprisoned Lives Matter is painted on the pavement in various colors.
<p><span>The "All Black Trans Queer Nonbinary Street Mural" was created in Oakland, California in June 2020. It is located on Lakeside Park Road outside of the Gardens of Lake Merritt. It is the Bay Area's longest street mural and has been seen around the world. The mural was organized by the East Bay Queer Arts Center. The mural was produced by local artists and activists including Kin Folz, the founder of the East Bay Queer Arts Center. In June of 2020, more than 300 volunteers participated in its creation. Oakland native, Tory Teasley, explained "This is our live-out-loud creative experience, it's something that marks the stamp on what this city is truly about. It represents its communities, the diversity of people here." In September 2021, just over a year after the mural was created, a "Pride Mural Paint Party" was organized in order to help return the mural to its original state after it started to fade. The "Paint Party" coincidentally took place during Oakland's Pride Month. <br /><br />The party also focused on the significance of the people, occurrences, and spaces that have played an important role in LGBTQIA+ diversity, such as the Oakland Pride Parade and Festival, which had been canceled that year because of COVID-19. As well as recognizing the value of the people fighting for equality, equity, and justice, the party also focused on remembering the importance of the cultural history not only in Lake Merritt but all around the city. They highlighted marginalized communities and the ongoing challenges that individuals within those communities face on a daily basis. These difficulties are the reason why the mural still remains relevant today. David Xone Johnson, an ambassador of the Queer Arts Center said, "I'll be transparent: It's still extremely challenging. So we're coming together to acknowledge that and just take everything that we're dealing with collectively into one statement to say that we are here and matter." Beyond bringing attention to the LGBTQIA+ community as a whole, the mural also focuses on the many incarcerated people who are LGBTQIA+. Janetta Johnson, an executive director of the TGI (Transgender, Gender Variant, Intersex) Project, spoke of the need for incarcerated transgender individuals to have a community and resources (including housing opportunities) available to them once they are released from prison. "We are dedicating our lives to the people who have been silenced. We are working to make your voices heard." </span><span> <br /><br />Sources</span></p>
<p><a href="https://georgefloydstreetart.omeka.net/items/show/3387"><span>https://georgefloydstreetart.omeka.net/items/show/3387</span><span>Links to an external site.</span></a><span> </span></p>
<p><a href="https://abc7news.com/blm-mural-oakland-gardens-at-lake-merritt-lives-matter-east-bay-queer-arts-center/6282968/"><span>https://abc7news.com/blm-mural-oakland-gardens-at-lake-merritt-lives-matter-east-bay-queer-arts-center/6282968/</span><span>Links to an external site.</span></a><span> </span></p>
<p><a href="https://localnewsmatters.org/2021/09/08/a-fresh-coat-of-visibility-pride-mural-paint-party-revitalizes-all-black-lives-matter-mural-at-lake-merritt/"><span>https://localnewsmatters.org/2021/09/08/a-fresh-coat-of-visibility-pride-mural-paint-party-revitalizes-all-black-lives-matter-mural-at-lake-merritt/</span><span>Links to an external site.</span></a><span> </span></p>
<p><a href="https://www.queerartscenter.com/team/kin-folkz"><span>https://www.queerartscenter.com/team/kin-folkz</span><span>Links to an external site.</span></a><span> </span></p>
Researched by the Urban Art Mapping Team<br /><br />Image <a href="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EbpKlUwU4AINURQ?format=jpg&name=4096x4096">URL</a><br /><br />News Coverage by<a href="https://sf.funcheap.com/city-guide/oaklands-black-lives-matter-mural/"> Fun Cheap SF</a><br /><br />Tweet by <a href="https://twitter.com/SarahBelleLin/status/1277415463564087297?s=20">Sarah Belle Lin</a> on June 28, 2020<br /><br />Instagram post by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CCDCqy9Buu6/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=b5642227-fe7b-4ea7-b11c-07ca31e3d6cd">JJ Harris</a> on June 30, 2020<br /><br />Instagram post by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CCAwPWhh5iT/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=5e47d076-5e02-49b3-9d44-7db6c96f034a">Queer Arts Center</a> on June 29, 2020<br /><br />Instagram post by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CB_fP04jCZP/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=4d09de0e-345d-4bd6-8c69-e7037b5bb919">Niki Britton</a> on June 28, 2020
Urban Art Mapping Research Project
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=40&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=2020-06-26">2020-06-26</a>
LA
Photographer: Sarah Belle Lin
37.805528, -122.258913
Black
The word "Black" written on green painted plywood. Older graffiti, possibly reading "Abolish the Police" can be seen painted over. This is located on a strip mall across the street from the Brooklyn Center Police Department.
Brooklyn Center Police Department
Urban Art Mapping Research Project
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=40&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=2021-04-25">2021-04-25</a>
NP
Photographer: Rebekah Coffman
UAM-GF_2393
6645 N Humboldt Ave, Brooklyn Center, MN, USA
Black Joy is the Sun!
'BLACK JOY IS THE SUN' written inside of a painted yellow sun. A piece of a larger wall filled with related art.
@neautra
Urban Art Mapping Research Project
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=40&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=2021-03-30">2021-03-30</a>
EM
Creator: @neautra
Photographer: Emily Magyar
UAM-GF_2014
Center St. and North Holton St., Milwaukee, WI, USA
Black like the Night Sky series
George Perry Floyd (October 14, 1973 - May 25, 2020) was a 46-year-old Black American man who was murdered by former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin after Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck for nearly 9 minutes in the Powderhorn neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota on May 25, 2020. Floyd’s murder sparked an international movement for Black Lives Matter, the largest civil rights movement of the century. On March 12, 2021, the city of Minneapolis agreed to pay $27 million to settle a wrongful death lawsuit brought by Floyd's family. On June 25, 2021, Chauvin was sentenced to 22.5 years in prison for his crimes.
A series of panels across several pieces of plywood:
1. Beautifully lettered text in black against a yellow ground. Text reads "Everytime you wash your hands it's a chance for a new beginning." by Hewana Sullivan Janzen.
2. Colorful raised fists against a yellow background.
3. Multiple panels across a door with poetic text by Tish Jones.
4. Text by Tish Jones reading "Black like Aspen Roots the connection Runs Deeper than the US Thought."
5. Drawing of George Floyd
Additional details included
Noval Noir
Project initiated on June 7, 2020
Urban Art Mapping Research Project
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=40&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=2020-07-07">2020-07-07</a>
HS
Photographs by Sally Pemberton
UAM-GF_1005
371 University Avenue W, Saint Paul, MN, USA
Black Woman Magic
A mural on the Springboard for the Arts bulding in St. Paul. This mural has a blue, green, and yellow background. This mural's central figure is a black woman. She is featureless except for big hair and full lips. There are no words. The background appears to be radiating from this figure. "EB" is written in the lower right corner.
Dr. Eboni Bell
This piece was 3D scanned by KBK on Oct 2, 2020.
KBK: I was told be a representative of Springboard for the Arts that Dr. Eboni Bell created this piece during a painting event held by Springboard for the Arts. I have tried to reach out to Dr. Bell but have not gotten a reply.
Urban Art Mapping Research Project
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=40&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=2020-09-06">2020-09-06</a>
F.S.
Photographer: KBK
UAM-GF_1840
262 University Ave W, Saint Paul, MN, USA
It's Ok To Be Black
Stenciled lettering reading "It's Ok To Be Black" on the sidewalk of Nicollet Mall, a pedestrian area of downtown Minneapolis.
Urban Art Mapping Research Project
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=40&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=2020-06-26">2020-06-26</a>
HS
Photograph by Sally Pemberton
UAM-GF_0551
Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
To The Parents Of White Children:
A piece of paper is taped to a street light pole. On the piece of paper, is a message addressed to the parents of white children. Under the message, are links for donating.
<a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/10/02/1041543414/she-guarded-the-black-lives-matter-memorial-now-shes-working-to-protect-its-art">Article</a> about the photographer's work<br /><br /><a href="https://digdc.dclibrary.org/islandora/object/dcplislandora%3A282592">Interview</a> with the photographer
Urban Art Mapping Research Project
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=40&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=2020-06-08">2020-06-08</a>
LA
Photographer: Nadine Seiler
610 15th St NW, Washington, DC 20230
We
Stencil art depicting BIPOC portraits, indicating people who have been killed by police brutality. In the middle of the faces the personal pronoun "WE" is written. Above the faces, there is a phrase written in red spray paint that reads, "Humanity wins...police brutality loses... change is here!!!"
Daesk
Urban Art Mapping Research Project
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=40&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=06-2020">06-2020</a>
LA
Artist: @daesk1
Photographers: Vicki Smith and Darnutzer, georgefloyd-streetart-mpls.org
UAM-GF_29266
621 W Lake St, Minneapolis, MN