Mayor Mitchell and New Bedford Art Committee Celebrate Public Art Project

 

New Bedford Artist’s Original Mural Design Enhances North End Overpass

  New Bedford, Massachusetts- Mayor Jon Mitchell and the members of the New Bedford Public Art Committee celebrated the installation of a new public mural on a Belleville Avenue overpass on Tuesday, July 29, 2014. The mural is the first public art project spearheaded by the New Bedford Public Art Committee, a group of artists and organizations established as an extension of the Mitchell Administration’s graffiti prevention program, Graffiti Free NB.  While Graffiti Free NB deters graffiti vandalism by making reporting options easier for citizens, it also seeks to engage local artists and encourage the appropriate use of public space for artwork.

Earlier this year, the Committee invited local artists to submit their original design proposals for the project.  The winning design was created by New Bedford artist Alex Jardin, a 2007 graduate of New Bedford High School who also earned a Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2013.

The design, entitled “School of Cod”, features a colorful school of Cod and Blue Fin Tuna swimming through a sea of Elm trees.  Each fish was painted using a technique described as a “heavy build up of colorful paints, handstyle letterings and random designs, reminiscent of years of graffiti build up.”

The “School of Cod” mural is one of several murals painted throughout New Bedford this summer in public places and on privately owned property.  Mayor Mitchell believes that our willingness as a community to embrace and appreciate public art is an important aspect of our community identity.  He said the City is committed to pursuing more public art projects and is working closely with the New Bedford Public Art Committee to identify more locations to install public murals.  “Not only can we beautify our city with public art, but we can celebrate the community of artists who live and work here.  New Bedford has a special relationship with the arts and we want to showcase that,” said Mayor Mitchell.

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 Issue No. 013