New York City Street Art: Hunts Point Murals Edition

Art at 5 Pointz –credit

With Banksy taking over our city and talk of 5 Pointz being torn down in favor of housing developments, street art is on everyone’s mind—making this the perfect time to continue our series on the subject, this time exploring the Bronx. The Bronx can accurately call itself a hotbed of art and culture –– 1520 Sedgwick Avenue in the South Bronx has been officially declared the birthplace of Hip-Hop. Since visual art often goes hand-in-hand with music, the borough is home to many of graffiti’s biggest names, including TATS Cru—a group of Bronx graffiti artists turned professional muralists. 

TATS Cru oversees the Hunts Point Murals on Drake Street in the Bronx. Stretching about 200 feet, this site features some of the best aerosol artists in the city and beyond. The owner of the art-covered warehouse specifically requested TATS Cru to add flair and artistry to the walls, in order to ward off any potential less talented graffiti artists.

Mural by Tats Cru –credit

The Hunts Point Murals were completed rather quickly, with world-renowned aerosol artists working on a Monday in 2012.  By the time the artists of TATS Cru worked on the Hunts Point Murals, they were a long way from their days of illegally expressing themselves in the subway. Many of them have presented in galleries internationally and fans recognize and appreciate the troupe all around the world.  
Though the spot is a bit of a trek from the end of the 6 train, it’s worth it to check out the free open-air exhibit by some of this generation’s most influential artists.

Beyond appreciating art for art’s sake, the Hunts Point Murals work to celebrate a community.  In September of this year, “Bronx Rising” was unveiled—a mural depicting Hunts Point as a neighborhood with a hopeful future. Groundswell, an organization that links public art and social issues, put this mural together, proving that street art can do so much more than previously thought.

The “Bronx Rising” Mural  –– Don’t Move. Improve. –credit

Posted on October 30, 2013