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 Other Side of Me
177-179 E 101st Street
Partners: Thrive Collective, Beautify NYC
Lead Artist: Tsvetana Dondero
Assistant Artists: Students working with NeON Arts
Completed: June 2022Concept
site
The building is on the north side of East 101st Street between Lexington Avenue and 3rd Avenue. The facade faces Sunshine Playground, a mid-block park with shady trees.
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Process
Design
“All the characters and settings represent each students happy place and their sides that they don't immediately show. They all talked a lot about portals to the worlds that they created in their minds through who they really are. The wall is a book of their stories and dreams. [The black trash receptacle is] a chest with treasures.”
—Tsvetana Dondero, lead artist
—Tsvetana Dondero, lead artist
Painting
After the primer was applied to the bricks, students helped with paint the mural over multiple weeks.
Dedication
The ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on Thursday, June 30, 2022.
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.