Project Summary

The My Rochester mural program is a public art equity project administered by the City of Rochester as part of their Percent for the Arts initiative. Each year, the city matches 1% of the total capital investments for use funding public art projects around town. As part of this program, community members chose an amazing painting by local artist Hilleyri Binet as the inspiration for a new mural on the outside of the Avenue D R-Center. I was honored to be asked to interpret her piece for the space and paint it on the building. Through conversations with Hilleyri and members of the community, I designed a concept that fit with the local environment while staying true to Hilleyri’s original vision.

Painting the piece on the R-Center became an interactive community event in and of itself! One of my favorite parts of painting murals outside is getting to interact with people stopping to check out the piece. I love chatting with passersby, whether it’s getting their thoughts on how the piece is coming along, or answering questions about the painting process. In the case of this installation, the Ave D R-Center is right along the El Camino trail with a steady stream of foot traffic passing back and forth by the building. Pair that with the fact that I was painting during an unseasonable warm week in October, and I had no shortage of onlookers to engage with! I had so many fascinating and insightful conversations with member of the community, ranging from the history of the neighborhood, their desire to see more public art in the area, and even where to get the best food nearby! There’s something about the creative process that draws people in and invites them to share their thoughts in ways that they otherwise might not in other settings.

My last day of painting was also an early dismissal for the local schools, so before I knew it I had a sizable young audience camped out all around me! I probably did more talking than painting that day, but it was so much fun hanging out with the kids and watching them get excited about the new art appearing in their neighborhood. We made a few additions to the design based on their feedback, and some of them were even up for painting a bit of the piece themselves!