It’s a wrap! In just six days the WALL\THERAPY crew laid down six human-scale murals and an immersive indoor installation as part of our Unite & Ignite international exchange with Urban Nation Berlin. The exhibition opened on Saturday, April 16 and runs until May 9.
Click on any of the images to open a larger version in a new window.
Final Murals
Sarah C. Rutherford and Mr. Prvrt
Cern
Shawnee Hill
Faring Purth
Brittany Williams
LNY
Photos by Mark Deff (@markdeffphoto). Indoor Installation
Sarah C. Rutherford
Faring Purth, Shawnee Hill, Brittany Williams
Shawnee Hill
Brittany Williams
St. Monci
LNY
Cern
Mr. Prvrt
Sarah C. Rutherford
Cern, LNY, Faring Purth
Work from the Believe/Become exhibit will be available for U.S. buyers in a few days. Those interested in purchasing work should contact sales@wall-therapy.com.
Photos above by Erich Lehman.
Believe/Become Opening
Photos above by Nika Kramer.
Photos above by Mark Deff (@markdeffphoto).
The WALL\THERAPY team is sincerely grateful for the support we receive, without which it would be impossible to deliver inspirational mural art throughout Rochester, and now, abroad.
Thanks to our partner, URBAN NATION and Yasha Young for providing the space and opportunity to collaborate and create the Believe/Become concept and exhibit. WALL\THERAPY is incredibly grateful to have been able to work alongside new friends among the Urban Nation team including Elisabetta, Alejandra, Imed, Anna, Dennis and Roland–without your guidance and assistance, the successful execution of this project would not have been possible!
Big thanks go to photographers Olaf Heine and Nika Kramer for capturing the spirit of our artists and staff interactions.
It was great to see some WALL\THERAPY alumni, including Addison Karl, David Walker, Above, Onur Dinc and all the other new friends we made throughout the week. Special thanks go to Addison Karl for his wonderful hospitality–from providing delicious home-cooked meals and acting as a guide for the city–you made us feel right at home in Berlin.
To our contributing artists, who have honored us with their inventive and inspiring creations, whose belief in the healing power of art is reflected in their dedication to the work and kind regard for community members and staff, we thank you.
To our Believe/Become staff and photographer, who took time from their jobs to travel to Berlin in support of our project, you are the heart and soul of WALL\THERAPY.
As the week flies by, the WALL\THERAPY crew keeps pushing toward completion of our exhibit at Urban Nation Berlin, with the opening tomorrow, Saturday, April 16.
BELIEVE/BECOME draws a line between the first WALL\THERAPY project’s theme of “Believe”–the belief in the power of art and individual expression to serve as a catalyst for inspiration in the communities in which we work–and the progress over the last five years toward realization of our goals: If you believe it, you become it. With “Become,” WALL\THERAPY brings to light issues close to the artists, from those with global impact to those affecting their own local communities.
Murals at Urban Nation
During the first part of the week, the crew was focused on laying down six human-scale murals on walls outside of the UN Production Offices.
Sarah C. Rutherford & Mr. Prvrt
Cern
Shawnee Hill
Maria, Faring Purth
Brittany Williams
Neo Colonialism/Decolonización, LNY
While most of our time in Berlin has been spent making the BELIEVE/BECOME exhibit a true representation of the spirit of WALL\THERAPY, the crew has gotten to enjoy some down time, too. A group dinner in the Kruezberg neighborhood at Kimchi Princess, courtesy of Urban Nation, a home-cooked meal with past WALL\THERAPY artist Addison Karl and a group outing to the nearby Bauhaus Archive all helped keep the group grounded and relaxed, and gave us a taste of local life in our home for the week.
As the opening draws closer, we turn our attention indoors. Sarah Rutherford and St. Monci are both creating installations, all of the artists will exhibit studio work, and some special surprises are also in the works.
Keep up to date on the BELIEVE/BECOME exhibit by visiting this site and following the WALL\THERAPY social media channels:
WALL\THERAPY artists and staff have arrived in Berlin! The crew spent its first 24 hours exploring neighborhoods, checking out murals and catching up with local alumni artists and friends Addison Karl and David Walker.
WALL\THERAPY crew at Urban Nation Berlin
Monday marked the crew’s first day at Urban Nation. The artists quickly oriented to their new home base, grabbed their cans and brushes and headed out to spend the first half of their week on the outdoor portion of the BELIEVE/BECOME exhibit.
Brittany Williams and LNY
Faring Purth
Shawnee Hill
Cern and Mr. Prvrt
The artists will continue to rock out their murals today. Later tonight, they’ll take part in the WALL\THERAPY x Urban Nation Artist Talk. If you’re in the area, be sure to swing by Urban Nation at 7 p.m. to check it out!
WALL\THERAPY x URBAN NATION Artist Talk
Tuesday, April 12, 7-9pm
Urban Nation Production Office
Bülowstraße 97 // 10738 Berlin-Schöneberg
Join the visiting artists for a conversation about muralism and community, speaking from their experiences with WALL\THERAPY and other localized projects as well as the impact Street Art has had on their home towns and own lives. We’ll also discuss the importance of cultural exchanges, and offer a glimpse into their personal work that will be exhibited at the opening reception this Saturday.
The talk will be lead by Erich Lehman, co-curator of WALL \ THERAPY, introducing these wonderful artists to the Berlin community:
This spring, WALL\THERAPY will pack up its cans, brushes and paints and head across the pond to a city that has seen a flowering of street art and graffiti, and echoes the project’s guiding principle of the transformative power of art in our communities.
Following Urban Nation’s guest co-curation of our 2015 festival, WALL\THERAPY will bring the spirit of its five-year project to Berlin, Germany, spending a week creating an indoor/outdoor exhibit with Urban Nation.
The event, entitled BELIEVE/BECOME, is the 10th edition of Urban Nation’s UNITE & IGNITE International Exchange Program. Named in part for WALL\THERAPY’s very first mural, BELIEVE/BECOME showcases the talents of a subset of WALL\THERAPY muralists, using their work to bring light to issues close to them, from those with global impact to those affecting their own local communities.
For the week of April 10-17, 2016, the artists will immerse themselves in Urban Nation’s Schoeneberg-Berlin neighborhood, starting their visit by working on a series of “human-scale” murals surrounding the Urban Nation offices, offering the artists a chance to interact with the adjacent community. WALL\THERAPY and Urban Nation will host a community discussion on the evening of Tuesday, April 12, examining the role of art in the public sphere as well as the evolving roles of mural festivals and institutions in the Street Art movement. These discussions will then be reflected in the group’s installation within the Urban Nation offices, culminating in an exhibit that will open on Saturday, April 16.
The project will serve as the second half of the international exchange program between Rochester and Berlin, launched in July 2015 in Rochester. Eight artists, who have all participated in past WALL\THERAPY events, have been invited to contribute to the program, curated by Ian Wilson (founder, co-curator) and Erich Lehman (co-curator, lead organizer).
Click on any of the images to open a larger version in a new window.
Community members can get updates and track the artists’ progress by visiting this site and following the WALL\THERAPY social media channels:
Facebook: facebook.com/walltherapyny
Instagram: @walltherapyny
Twitter: @walltherapyny
Learn more about Urban Nation by visiting their site or following them on their social media channels:
After 10 days of frenzied activity, logistical maneuvering, creative expression, and many laughs, group dinners, and companionable conversation at our home base at The Yards, WALL\THERAPY 2015 has come to an end. In its fifth year, the project continued to evolve, most significantly this year through its new partnership with URBAN NATION, which co-curated roughly half of the project’s artists and contributed to the continued realization of our primary goals: transforming Rochester’s urban landscape, providing healing inspiration, and building community.
WALL\THERAPY 2015 was punctuated by three open-to-the-public events. It kicked off with its first ever art exhibition in support of IMPACT! – IMProving Access to Care by Teleradiology, featuring studio work from all of the participating artists. A portion of all sales from the show will go directly to The Synthesis Collaborative to support the IMPACT! project. You can view available work here: http://shop.1975ish.com/category/impact-wt15
IMPACT! seeks to provide easier access to better care in underdeveloped and underserved regions through cloud-based x-ray services and a network of volunteer radiologists supporting IMPACT! sites. Both WALL\THERAPY and IMPACT! are projects of The Synthesis Collaborative. The Synthesis Collaborative is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the health status of communities in the developing world using the tools of teleradiology and cloud computing.
Photo by Jason Wilder
Photo by @markdeffphoto
On Thursday, partners, artists, staff, volunteers and visitors enjoyed the FLOOR\THERAPY dance party hosted by The Lobbyist at Rochester’s Bug Jar to celebrate the week’s work.
Finally, on Friday, media partners Brooklyn Street Art hosted their popular BSA Film Friday—Live from WALL\THERAPY at the Memorial Art Gallery in Rochester.
Photo by Jason Wilder
Photo by Jason Wilder
You can view a short trailer of our upcoming artist spotlight videos that we’ll be releasing every Monday in August below:
Focused on a theme of surrealism and the fantastic, the artists’ work did not disappoint, with subjects ranging from a whale of melting ice, a young girl with a blooming mind to a retaliating beaver and a battle royale between monsters and robots.
Click on any of the images to open a larger version in a new window.
Prior to the official start of WALL\THERAPY 2015, Dutch artist Handiedan completed a wheatpaste mural in Rochester’s South Wedge/Swillburg neighborhood entitled “Bollywood Sugar.”
820 South Clinton Avenue – Photo by @markdeffphoto
New York City-based artist Daze completed three murals during his time in Rochester, “Rochester Dream” on Rochester’s north side, a collaboration with the city’s local FUA Krew and a final wall on Atlantic Avenue.
646 Joseph Ave – Photo by @markdeffphoto
646 Joseph Ave – Photo by @markdeffphoto
FUA KREW production wall with DAZE – Photo by @markdeffphoto
From L – R: Daze, Range FUA, Zoner FUA, Snoe FUA, Mas, Bones FUA
430 Atlantic Ave – Photo by Jason Wilder
Daze’s third mural merged into clouds emanating from Nate Hodge’s mural just around the corner on the same building.
430 Atlantic Ave – Photo by Tomas Flint
Continuing to round the building, visitors will encounter Brazilian artist Eder Muniz’s mural of vibrant animals and mythological creatures dancing across a saturated blue background.
430 Atlantic Ave – Photo by Erich Lehman
The final mural located on the building belongs to Vexta, a Brooklyn-based artist, whose mural of fluorescent cosmic shards is anchored by the face of a masked woman.
430 Atlantic Ave – Photo by Tomas Flint
Just down Atlantic Avenue, artist Li-Hill completed a large, three-story mural in just over three days.
Prior to tackling his giant wall, Li-Hill first created an installation piece in an undisclosed location in the Northwest side of the city.
Detail Shot Photo by Lisa Barker
Nearby on Greenleaf Street, Swedish artist Andreas Englund wrapped up his second ever mural of a resting superhero entitled “Pebbles.”
40 Greenleaf Street – Photo by Jason Wilder
Just around the corner on an eastern wall at Fedder Industrial Park, which is also populated with work from 2014 WALL\THERAPY artists Addison Karl, Omen, Jarus and Troy Lovegates, local artists Joe Guy Allard and Matthew Roberts created a giant blockbuster mural of a battle between monsters and robots.
1237 East Main Street – Photo by Jason Wilder
Early in the week, California-based artists Jeff Soto and Maxx242 quickly completed a massive mural in Rochester’s Public Market and then promptly headed to another on which Maxx completed a scripted mural with the words “Love and Sacrifice.”
43 Public Market – Photo by @markdeffphoto
912 Hudson Ave – Photo by @markdeffphoto
Near Daze’s first mural on Joseph Avenue, Rochester artist Brittany Williams lay down a striking portrait of a young woman in profile, whose mind splits open to reveal flower petals flowing from her mind.
488 Joseph Avenue – Photo by Jason Wilder
Swiss artists NEVERCREW created a stunning wall downtown, already popular among WALL\THERAPY followers, that shows a small whale inside a larger whale made of melting ice with the city skyline reflecting back, intersected by a burning ombré ray of sunlight.
14 Capron Street – Photo by Jason Wilder
Also hailing from Switzerland, artists Onur and Wes21 created a masterpiece of the natural world’s retaliation against human incursion on Main Street.
880 East Main StreetV-VPhoto by Jason Wilder
Year after year, it becomes more evident that WALL\THERAPY’s mission of inspiration has caught on among its supporters—artists, staff, volunteers, sponsors and community partners alike—and has created an undercurrent of passion in action that makes a project such as this possible. With just 15 artists, our event was an intimate one that allowed the artists time to appreciate the city they are helping to heal, and gave volunteers and staff time to meet those artists whose work will grace 14 of its walls.
THANK YOU!
The WALL\THERAPY team is sincerely grateful for the support we receive, without which it would be impossible to deliver inspirational mural art throughout Rochester.
To the Rochester community, your support is integral to our continued work. You’ve helped us to raise more than $35,000 on our Indiegogo campaign, without which we would not have gotten the project off the ground. Community sponsors provided meals and beverages that fueled artists, staff and volunteers throughout a busy week. And the donation of time and sharing of links and photos help us to reach more and more community members.
To our major partners — URBAN NATION, Brooklyn Street Art and Montana Cans — your involvement helped us to raise our 2015 event to even greater heights through increased outreach and support.
To business owners who donated walls now graced with WALL\THERAPY murals, thank you for the opportunity and trust you have granted us. You have helped us to continue the work of positive change and healing throughout Rochester.
To our contributing artists, who have honored us with their incredible creations and helped us to continue to heal our city, and whose appreciation for our city is reflected in their dedication to the work, and kind regard for our community members and volunteers, we thank you.
To our volunteers and staff, many of whom took time from their jobs to work long hours in support of our project, managing the complicated logistics of artists and volunteers spread throughout the city, providing hospitality to our artists, ensuring they had the cans of paint and supplies they needed when they needed them, and delivering much needed refreshment and shade during the long hot days of the past week, you are the heart and soul of WALL\THERAPY.
To our photographers and videographers, who often worked long into the night alongside artists to ensure we documented the images of the work, and but also captured the sense of community and enjoyment that surrounds the work, we are enormously grateful.
Our new site is jam-packed with bios and photos from the last five years, a searchable map of the murals, and tons of easier ways to find our murals or be a part of the project. We’ve integrated our Google Cultural Institute exhibitions so that you can view the murals in high resolution year by year. Best of all, the entire site is now searchable!
We want to thank our team member Katie Verrant for the seemingly countless hours she’s put in to both this site, our Google Cultural Institute presence, and a few other projects about to come out! We couldn’t have done this without all her hard work!
Let the 2015 show begin!
WALLTHERAPY and URBAN NATION are excited to launch the International exchange program between Rochester and Berlin. Artists curated by the UN Director Yasha Young have been invited to participate and contribute to the program of WALLTHERAPY 2015 curated by Ian Wilson (founder, co-curator) and Erich Lehman (co-curator, lead organizer). WALLTHERAPY 2015 will kick off on July 17, 2015, and our theme for this year is surrealism and the fantastic.
Brooklyn Street Art founders Jaime Rojo and Steve Harrington will be contributing with a very exciting special BSA FILM FRIDAY at the Memorial Art Gallery.
To start things off right, we will be holding our first proper exhibition kickoff titled IMPACT! This exhibition will take place at 1975 Gallery (89 Charlotte St.) and will showcase artwork from all the 2015 participating WALLTHERAPY artists in support of IMPACT! – IMProving Access to Care by Teleradiology – www.impactrad.org. IMPACT seeks to provide easier access to better care in underdeveloped and underserved regions through cloud-based x-ray services and a network of volunteer radiologists supporting IMPACT sites. Both WALLTHERAPY and IMPACT! are projects of The Synthesis Collaborative.
FRIDAY – JULY 17 – IMPACT! art show and kickoff featuring work from this year’s participating artists!
Portions of ALL sales will go directly to The Synthesis Collaborative to support the IMPACT project!
THURSDAY – JULY 23 – FLOOR THERAPY at the Bug Jar!
$5 at the door.
WALL\THERAPY & The Lobby present the third annual FLOOR/THERAPY with Thievin’ Stephen, DJ Tim Tones, Stay Gold, Lord Krow, and more TBA. Come boogie as the 2015 roster of visiting WALL\THERAPY artists take a mid-week party break at Bug Jar. 10pm-2am Thursday, July 23.
FRIDAY – JULY 24 – Brooklyn Street Art hosts BSA FILM FRIDAYS at the MAG!
Free and open to the public (limited to capacity of the auditorium)
BSA FILM FRIDAY LIVE
with hosts
Steven P. Harrington and Jaime Rojo
Founders of Brooklyn Street Art (BSA)
Friday July 24, 2015 – 5:00 pm
MAG Auditorium
Memorial Art Gallery, University of Rochester
Take an entertaining trip with Steve and Jaime through many of their favorite short video pieces selected from the last 10 months of the popular BrooklynStreetArt.com section: BSA Film Friday. Experimenters, explorers, anti-heroes and dreamers all, you’ll see how WALL\THERAPY 2015 is on-point with this year’s theme of surrealism and the fantastic
