We Live Here

  • The final mural "We Live Here" relays the idea that liveable streets come from a supportive community..
  • Lead Artist Crystal Bruno leads the team in a workshop on how gridding can serve as an effective way to accurately translate the scale of any drawing.
  • At the community partner presentation, the team presents both a pencil mock up of its mural and a hand painted version. This provides Groundswell’s community partners additional insight into the mural design process.
  • After the team of muralists developed personal drawings, Lead Artist Crystal Bruno worked to incorporate all of the ideas into one solid design.
  • Having some fun and getting a little messy with paint, the team poses for a group photo in front of their mural.
  • This detail of the mural represents the team’s exploration of ideas on traffic safety, liveable streets, and how communities work together and share the roads with each other.

Project Description

“We Live Here” was designed to promote liveable streets in New York City’s largest walk-to-work community. In partnership with the New York City Department of Transportation and environmental justice leader UPROSE, teen apprentice artists conducted studies on local traffic patterns and strategized ways to promote safety and respect amongst the many communities present in the neighborhood. Through this process, the youth artists created a new work of public art that explores how residents living, working, driving, and attending school along 4th Avenue in Sunset Park interact with the roads and with each other. Too often treated as a vehicle through-way for speeding drivers, 4th Avenue is also a thriving pedestrian destination, lined with schools, senior centers, churches, libraries, and retail venues. “We Live Here” is a collage of imagery inspired by the young people’s research and sketches, with many symbols present to encourage shared use of the streets. Unifying the message of the mural is the team’s intense focus on the human presence underlying traffic safety efforts.

Add new comment

CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Image CAPTCHA
Enter the characters shown in the image.

Project Info

Fun Facts

Suggested Activity
Traffic concerns along the 4th Avenue corridor are among the most severe in Brooklyn, with over 50% of drivers speeding at midday and 80% speeding in the evening hours. Create an original traffic safety sign which directly addresses these concerns.
Quote
“The neighborhood doesn’t get recognized for its residential community. This mural discourages people from using 4th Avenue as an expressway and encourages the creation of greener spaces in the Sunset Park community." – Lead Artist Crystal Bruno
Research
Between 2006 and 2010, 88 people were severely injured or killed in traffic incidents along 4th Avenue.