Client: Town Green District

Overview

A vibrant mural now depicts the metamorphosis of New Haven’s Ninth Square neighborhood into an artistic and cultural center.

Through Straight Up Art, a Town Green District program, Svigals + Partners was selected through a proposal process to lead community volunteers in transforming a 53’ x 10’ brick wall into an exciting public art project in the heart of Ninth Square right across from our office. By asking those that live and work in the neighborhood to share a few words of what Ninth Square means to them, four themes were identified: Community, History, Culture and Heart. Those themes celebrate the circle of influence between The City and this unique neighborhood.

The mural is a lively, colorful, and exciting homage to New Haven’s original urban plan and an acknowledgement of the ever-changing landscape of this Square and this City. The design captures movement, possibility, love, and hope in a way that is both relatable and beautiful. Bringing it to life was an opportunity for neighbors to come together to enhance the community.

Goals

For this initiative, Straight Up Art partnered with property owners and invited artists to transform nondescript surfaces into sites of public art-making to stimulate excitement, thought, and a desire to take care of each other and their shared Downtown environment. Through the collaborative process of mural-making, the organization hoped to cultivate neighborhood pride, grow the local creative economy, and create a beautiful, walkable Downtown environment. Potential candidates were asked to reflect on their relationship to New Haven's communities and to allow the streetscapes rich culture to influence their creative process. Public art serves to connect our past, present and future through shared space and the power of art, and candidates who could honor the deep history and vibrant diversity of the New Haven community and integrate into their work were critical to the success of the project.