Through incorporating publicly accessible art on our current properties and future projects, Art @ Ascendant brings together artists, youth, and East Harlem residents through collaborative art-making, neighborhood beautification, and community activism.
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The Inside Look
441-449 E 116th Street
Partners: Thrive Collective, Beautify NYC
Lead Artist: Marissa
Molina
Assistant Artists: See full list in Details
Completed: October 2021Concept
“Overall the theme the students wanted to focus on was community and bringing people together. Throughout the design, everything is connected from left to right with various forms of energy and action. At the center is a globe with positive words to connect and inspire. It takes a lot of scenic elements you’d find in Harlem put together in a more fantastical way to emphasize musical and cultural roots as well as growth, connection, and positivity despite the hardships we’ve endured as a community.”
—via Thrive Collective
site
The buildings are on the north side of East 116th Street between 1st Avenue and Pleasant Avenue. The facades span 125 feet, providing a uniquely large canvas for the mural.
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Process
Design
The south-facing facades of the buildings were recently restored. To maintain the historic characteristics while accomodating the art, AND asked that the mural not be painted on the lintels and doorframes. These architectural elements contrast with the colorful, organic, flowing design of the artwork.
Painting
After the primer was applied to the bricks, students helped with paint the mural over multiple weeks.
Dedication
“Projects like this matter to us at Thrive Collective because they help to bring to the surface the beauty that those of us [who] live in the neighborhood already know exists....Public art, in a way, is a stamp for visitors, for passers-by, for everybody, the celebration of all that’s beautiful, all that’s good, all that’s filled with joy and life and creativity in our neighborhoods. This project represents that in very beautiful ways.”
—Jeremy Del Rio, Executive Director of Thrive Collective
—Jeremy Del Rio, Executive Director of Thrive Collective
“A lot of the work that we do in developing affordable housing takes a really long time—measured in years, sometimes in decades—but to see a project like this come together in a few months is really amazing, and it’s the first of what we hope to be many.”
—Chris Cirillo, Executive Director of AND
“The students wanted the mural to be about community and bringing people together. So what’s going across the walls are different elements that you might not normally expect, or realize is happening in East Harlem—to show all the personalities, all the connections—that the true heart is there.
—Marissa Molina, Lead Artist
“The students wanted the mural to be about community and bringing people together. So what’s going across the walls are different elements that you might not normally expect, or realize is happening in East Harlem—to show all the personalities, all the connections—that the true heart is there.
—Marissa Molina, Lead Artist
Details
Photos
More Information
Thrive Collective
Thrive Collective creates hope and opportunity through arts, sports, and mentoring in and around public schools.
“For Thrive Collective, art education really isn’t about murals, music, and media. It’s about a creative process for students to find their voice, cultivate a shared vision, and develop the art and life skills to bring that vision to life in collaboration with others.
“The murals, music, and media they produce simply testify that our process works. It works because it’s rooted in two fundamental beliefs. First, everyone has the capacity to create. Second, our creative capacity isn’t fully realized outside of community with others.” —via ThriveCollective.org
“For Thrive Collective, art education really isn’t about murals, music, and media. It’s about a creative process for students to find their voice, cultivate a shared vision, and develop the art and life skills to bring that vision to life in collaboration with others.
“The murals, music, and media they produce simply testify that our process works. It works because it’s rooted in two fundamental beliefs. First, everyone has the capacity to create. Second, our creative capacity isn’t fully realized outside of community with others.” —via ThriveCollective.org
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Beautify NYC
BeautifyNYC was made possible by the City Cleanup Corps (NYC CCC) and NeON Arts.
NeON Arts—a free program of the NYC Department of Probation in partnership with Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute that is open to the entire city—offers young people in seven New York City communities the chance to explore the arts through a variety of creative projects that help them establish positive peer relationships and develop important social and career skills. Workshops are hosted at community-based probation offices called Neighborhood Opportunity Networks (NeONs) and other nearby sites.
“Making a neighborhood look and feel better can lead to more interaction among neighbors, attract new businesses and supports both economic development and a sense of community.” —via NeON
NeON Arts—a free program of the NYC Department of Probation in partnership with Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute that is open to the entire city—offers young people in seven New York City communities the chance to explore the arts through a variety of creative projects that help them establish positive peer relationships and develop important social and career skills. Workshops are hosted at community-based probation offices called Neighborhood Opportunity Networks (NeONs) and other nearby sites.
“Making a neighborhood look and feel better can lead to more interaction among neighbors, attract new businesses and supports both economic development and a sense of community.” —via NeON
Ascendant Heritage Apartments
The Ascendant Heritage Apartments are four, five, and six-story apartment buildings serving low- and very low- income residents. Our $34 million Ascendant Heritage project preserves 359 apartments and six commercial spaces across 21 buildings in the AND portfolio.
After years of use, these buildings required a new round of renovations to make them more comfortable, functional, sustainable, and resilient to climate change. We have also restructured and refinanced the buildings to ensure the long-term affordability of these homes.
Ascendant Heritage Apartments was honored with Affordable Housing Finance’s 2021 Reader's Choice Award for Best in Preservation.
After years of use, these buildings required a new round of renovations to make them more comfortable, functional, sustainable, and resilient to climate change. We have also restructured and refinanced the buildings to ensure the long-term affordability of these homes.
Ascendant Heritage Apartments was honored with Affordable Housing Finance’s 2021 Reader's Choice Award for Best in Preservation.