NYC is getting 50 new murals in celebration of Pride next month
Buff Monster’s Lower East Side mural; Photo courtesy of NYC Pride
To celebrate WorldPride and the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising next month, 50 murals will be painted on walls across New York City. As amNY first reported, the new street art is an initiative from NYC Pride for the World Mural Project. According to the organization, the murals will “reflect and honor the beauty, struggle, and strides of the LGBTQIA+ community.” The first mural designed by local artist Buff Monster was completed last week and can be viewed on the corner of Chrystie and Broome Street on the Lower East Side.
Buff Monster adding the finishing touches; Photo courtesy of NYC Pride
While the city hosts a month-long Pride celebration every June, this year’s event will be even bigger. WorldPride, the largest Pride celebration in the world and held in various cities around the globe, lands in NYC to coincide with Stonewall 50. It will be the first WorldPride hosted in the United States.
The murals will pop up at 50 different locations across the five boroughs, one by one starting in May throughout mid-June, culminating at the start of Pride week on June 26. Confirmed neighborhoods for the new murals include the East Village, the Lower East Side, Midtown West, Williamsburg, Stapleton on Staten Island, Astoria, Long Island City, Mott Haven, and more.
“Art, in all its forms, has always been an integral means of expression in the LGBTQIA+ community, and particularly meaningful to the fabric of New York City’s culture,” Chris Frederick, the executive director of NYC Pride, said in a statement.
“Street art is a poetic example of this expression and the 50 WorldPride muralists will, no doubt, combine beauty and poignant messaging at a time when our collective stories can be — and must be — told.”
Fifty local and international artists were chosen, including Buff Monster, Tatyana Fazlalizadeh, NoMad Clan, Kunle Martins, Gianni Blass Lee, and Stik. Along with NYC Pride, the project is a collaboration among LISA Project NYC, HSBC Bank, and Macy’s. A display of murals in the windows of Macy’s Herald Square will debut June 6 and remain there for the month.
[Via amNY]
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