Despite some unpredictable Rochester weather this week, the 2017 WALL\THERAPY artists have been creating murals throughout the city, all with a theme of arts and activism. As in past years, our summer festival brings frenzied activity, companionable group dinners, floodlighted night painting sessions, and many laughs, but our focus is always the important work of inspiring our community. This year’s local and visiting artists are keenly focused on completing murals that highlight causes close to heart and honor human beacons that shed an inspiring light on our world’s current complexities.
Locally born but Brooklyn-based artist Aubrey Roemer is working toward completion of a three-story, mixed-media mural. With a vibrant green base, its focus is a woman holding a child with multiple figures looking over her, surrounded by painted, paper, and found-object flora. It serves as an examination of family and environmentalism.
936 Exchange Street – Photo by Mark Deff
Rochester-based artist Sarah C. Rutherford joins WALL\THERAPY for the second time with a mural honoring Trelawney McCoy, an adoptive, foster, and biological mother to nine children. The mural is part of her series, “Her Voice Carries,” a mural project capturing the unique stories of five women who live and work in various communities in Rochester. Upon completion, this will be the second outdoor mural in the series.
548 West Main Street – Photo by Mark Deff
For the first time, WALL\THERAPY is partnering with Roc Paint Division, the city of Rochester’s youth mural program. At age 17, Etana Brown, Nzinga Muhammed, and Kaori-Mei Stephens are the youngest ever WALL\THERAPY artists. Their mural features self portraits atop an azure blue background, alongside protest signs that underscore the work’s exploration of racial diversity within the Black community, asserting that all Black Lives Matter.
285 Clarissa Street – Photo by Lisa Barker
Visiting artist Jess X Snow is creating a portrait of transgender poet Chrysanthemum Tran at the Kaleidoscope Collective next to Aubrey Roemer’s wall. In the artist’s own words, the poet is featured as the Earth in a queer cosmos of her own gender and naming.
936 Exchange Street – Photo by Josh Saunders
Lucinda Yrene (La Morena)’s work-in-progress is a portrait of her daughter holding a burning sage smudge stick, with hopes for a cleansing, healing effect on the world, on a bright purple background. On the far right of the mural, a flying white owl is taking shape.
1112 East Main Street – Photo by Mark Deff
Todd Stahl is a teacher at Webster Thomas High School in Rochester and has some of his students assisting him. His mural is inspired by the Syrian refugee crisis, and features a portrait of a Syrian girl surrounded by symbolic representations of her life left behind and the road ahead. Todd worked with Syrian documentary photographer Manar Bilal, who gave him permission to source his images for the mural.
59 Pennsylvania Avenue – Photo by Mark Deff
Ian Kuali’i brings his unique, detailed technique of handcutting paper while adhered to the wall’s surface to WALL\THERAPY 2017. His work features spiritual, empowering images, and we excitedly await his mural’s unveiling, cut by cut.
40 Greenleaf Street – Photo by Jason Wilder
Finally, Sean 9 Lugo hit town mid-week and began to lay down a series of wheatpaste murals weaving throughout the city that tell a story of Olivia, a raccoon, and a turtle, and their quest to heal the world around them. More to come as we watch the story unfold.
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EVENTS THIS WEEK!
Also coming this week are two special events that align with this year’s goal of deepening our engagement within Rochester’s communities.
Arts & Activism, the Inaugural WALL\THERAPY Conference
The Little Theatre, 240 East Avenue
July 29, 2017, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Arts and Activism, the inaugural WALL\THERAPY conference, will explore the intersection of social change, community activism, and creative practice, initiating a critical dialogue between participating artists, organizers, scholars, and the local community of Rochester.
The keynote talk will be delivered by Dr. Jessica Pabón-Colón, Assistant Professor for Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at SUNY New Paltz. Based on the framework of her upcoming book “Graffiti Grrlz: Performing Feminism in the Hip Hop Diaspora” she will examine how contemporary street and graffiti art movements have responded critically to the demands of the creative neoliberal city, offering examples to provoke thought on the relationship between aesthetics and politics.
Featuring:
+ Spotlight: Her Voice Carries
+ Panel Discussion: Art and Social Change at Times of Crisis
+ Spotlight: O+ Festival
+ Panel Discussion: Education and Empowerment: Enabling the Voice of the next Generation
+ Project room featuring representatives from WALL\THERAPY, O+ Festival, WXXI, The Ghandi Institute, the New York Civil Liberties Union, Refugees Helping Refugees, Flying Squirrel Community Space, and the Visual Studies Workshop.
The event is free for all to attend; we hope you will join us for a day of discussion!
WALL\THERAPY Block Party
Kaleidoscope Collective, 936 Exchange Street
July 29, 2017, 6:30 – 10 p.m.
Come celebrate art, music and community! WALL\THERAPY and Kaleidoscope Collective will host a summertime celebration for WALL\THERAPY supporters featuring Danielle Ponder and the Tomorrow People! We’ll also be officially revealing murals by Aubrey Roemer and Jess X Snow. We will have an open air artist market, food trucks, live art, and music to make you groove.
ARTIST MARKET LINEUP
1. FUA Crew
2. Kasim Wallace Creations
3. Bless the Messy
4. The Exchange Art Space featuring artists: Lizz DeSimone, Rachel Farley, Allie Push, Haley Wehner and Reb Lomoto
5. Aubrey Roemer
6. Shawnee Hill
7. Custom Crown Craftworks
8. Heather Swenson
9. Wholistic Herbals
10. JDB-R Art
Admission is simply donate what you can. No one turned away for lack of funds. Donations go directly to support WALL\THERAPY.
Danielle Ponder and the Tomorrow People will be going on around 8:30pm.
PLEASE NOTE!!!
There is a small parking lot behind the building and very limited on-street parking, so we HIGHLY recommend carpooling or biking!
No one under 16 can be permitted without a parent or guardian
Please be respectful of the neighborhood, we want to be great guests!
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Mural by Brittany Williams, 2015.
Danielle Ponder photo by Jocelyn Mesiti.