The 2,500-square-foot mural embodies Red Hook’s rich history and community fortitude, preserved by KPF’s work to repair damage and create flood protection on-site.
Residents from Red Hook Houses West collaborated with Artolution, a local nonprofit, to produce a mural of painted imagery representative of the waterfront neighborhood. Unveiled on May 29, the mural is accompanied by a unique Snapchat lens designed by fifteen of Red Hook’s youth, bringing the artwork to life on the digital app.
NYCHA Chief Executive Officer Lisa Bova-Hiatt celebrated the artwork and the residents who spearheaded its design: “Red Hook West’s new, vibrant mural is a great representation of the resilience, depth, and determination of NYCHA’s Red Hook residents. This magnificent and sprawling piece of artwork…will serve as a landmark in the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn for those that will inevitably pass by it day-in and day-out, and a testament to the changes and challenges its diverse community has faced, particularly after Hurricane Sandy. We thank our partners at the Public Housing Community Fund and Artolution for helping to bring this wonderful project and experience to life for Red Hook West residents.”
The mural adorns the wall of an above ground boiler system, built as a part of the KPF-designed resiliency program. The program was devised to diminish the neighborhood’s vulnerability to natural disaster after Superstorm Sandy left thousands of residents devastated in October 2012. Featuring numerous social spaces, fourteen utility pods, and a “lily pad” landscaping solution to mitigate flooding, the project will significantly increase the resiliency of the Red Hook Houses’ infrastructure while fostering a dynamic social environment.
Read the full press release on the mural’s unveiling here.