Title of project: Savage Habbit Public Murals Project

Project Summary:
I started off this public murals project in Jersey City back in the fall to help promote public art in our local neighborhoods – there has been a growing art scene here in J.C. and I’ve been working off of that new found community energy and excitement for public art by getting walls for artists to paint. Jersey City has a ton of potential to become an even greater art hub by promoting street art, which has become a very powerful way to bring in cultural revenue, more artists, and general warmth to the city streets. I work with a lot of artists from overseas and others that are not necessarily local to NJ, because I believe it is important to celebrate art from all over and welcome it to where we live. So far I have done a wall on the front of FJB Comics on Coles St – artist is Dulk from Spain and just the other week a wall at 143 Columbus Drive by NoseGo from Philadelphia. I also have lined up for September an artist from Italy, Pixel Pancho to paint a massive 50 foot high wall at 143-5 Columbus Drive and another from Austria, Nychos to continue painting the parking lot of 143 Columbus. As you can see I want to globalize the art scene in Jersey City by working with these really influential artists who are known in the street art scene.
How will you use the grant towards your project (about $500-$1000?):

• To help cover paint and lift costs.

How will this project manifest itself in the 2013 Studio Tour (encouraged) and at the next Art Eat Up?
We will bring the studio tour to the streets, where people will be provided with a map of wall locations and can enjoy the city by hunting down the walls and experience the power and love of murals.
Why is this project critical?
Murals are a positive way to bring art to our streets, without having to step foot into a gallery space. It is meant for everyone to enjoy… on the streets everyone is equal where they can congregate, watch artists paint walls in front of them, meet the artists that come from other parts of the world, and then go and pass on the story of the wall. It is permanently there (or as long as as the building stands).