Mamaroneck Historical Murals celebrate the Rich History of the Village , New York 2019

The Mamaroneck Historical Murals project, curated by Street Art for Mankind (SAM), took place from 13th-28th April 2019. SAM invited world renowned street artists to paint five spectacular murals in Mamaroneck that pay tribute to the diversity, artistic heritage, and rich history of their Village.

“Mamaroneck is a village in Westchester County renown as the “friendly village” for its diversity and welcoming population. The Mamaroneck Historical Murals encapsulate the DNA of the village. It is a tribute to its rich past including the Native Americans, the lively artistic scene or the iconic skinny house, but it is also a recognition of the community as it is today, proud of its harbor and rich of its diversity. ” Audrey Decker Co-founder of SAM

“The Mamaroneck Historical Murals” project featured five stories selected by The Mamaroneck Historical Society to illustrate key elements in the city’s past and symbolise the character of the community. Artist’s invited to paint were Victor Ash (Denmark), Mr Cenz (UK), Shalak Attack (Canada, Chile), Bruno Smoky (Brazil) and Loic Ercolessi (France).

“We worked with the Mamaroneck Historical Society to illustrate the rich past of Mamaroneck based on the style and sensitivity of each artists. Mr Cenz depicted Mamaroneck artistic scene from the 20th and 21st century, Victor Ash the diversity of the village with people coming from all around the world, Shalak Attack the Native Americans, Bruno Smoky the life of boating and fishing in Mamaroneck and Loic Ercolessi the rich human story behind the Skinny house.” Audrey Decker Co-founder of SAM

The topics and themes that were painted by the five artists were…
-Native American Origins, painted by Shalak Attack. Mamaroneck is a village proud of its origins, the pre-European peoples who lived on and around Mamaroneck Harbour.

-A Village on the Sound, painted by Bruno Smoky. From fishing and boat building to leisure, the beautiful waterfront has been important to their economy and development.

-A Community Built on Diversity, painted by Victor Ash. For centuries, people of diverse ethnicity and origin have made the Friendly Village their home.

The Skinny House, painted by Loic Ercolessi. Photo Credit Just a Spectator .. The inspiring story of an iconic Village landmark showing friendship and community during hard times.

-A Storied Art Scene, painted by Mr Cenz. For more than a century, Mamaroneck has hosted significant cultural figures and institutions representing a range of artistic forms.

The murals attracted a celebratory visit from Actor and Director, Matt Dillon, who had a mural dedicated to him and fellow actors Lily Gish and Ethel Barrymore, painted by Mr cenz…

“The mural depicts 3 famous actors and actresses who all grew up and in the town. Firstly Matt Dillion, his family still live in Mamaroneck so this was extra special for them. Either side of him were two ladies from the golden era of cinema, Ethel Barrymore to the right and Lillian Gish to the left.” Mr Cenz

https://www.instagram.com/p/BwQbJPKnfuA/

When asked about his brief encounter with Matt Dillon, Mr Cenz commented…

“It was a very memorable experience and something I will never forget. I was painting his portrait when he called up from below “hey I think that’s me your painting” it was a very surreal moment!” Mr Cenz

A similar and successful project was done in the Village of Larchmont last year.

“The Larchmont Historical Murals was a huge success with over 500 people joining the art walk inauguration and coming from as far as New York City and New Heaven,.  Right after the event, we were approached by the village of  Mamaroneck to continue this journey through history with as next step: Mamaroneck. Our vision is to continue creating historical murals across Westchester and beyond to reinforce the sense of community and belonging, and reactivate foot traffic in the cities and villages. People also love the “Behind the Wall” free app that allows them to scan murals and walk from walls to walls, with their audio-guide, just like in a museum.”  Audrey Decker Co-founder of SAM

The five murals have been part of phase phase 1, a phase 2 is planned to double the amount of murals across the village. Watch this space…

 

Photo Credit Just_a_spectator

Comments

comments

Share your comments