News

June 13, 2008

SONYA Kicks Off Its Mural Arts Fund with the Tillie’s Mural Project

The South Of the Navy Yard Artists (SONYA) has partnered with Community Murals to create the SONYA Mural Arts Fund. This fund will be used to create and implement murals and public art projects that support the youth and neighborhoods of Brooklyn. The initial goal is to raise $5,000 towards the completion of its first project and the development of future murals.

Community Murals founder, Ellie Balk, is the designer, director and lead painter of the Tillie’s Community Mural, on Vanderbilt Ave at DeKalb in Ft. Greene, Brooklyn, and is reporting on the mural’s progress in her art blog, tilliesmuralproject.blogspot.com. The public is invited to visit and support the artists, and to make a tax-deductible donation by clicking on “donate” above, then noting “Mural Arts Fund” under the special instructions, so that the funds can be allocated to this project.

The Tillie’s Community Mural will feature a large 9’ circle map of the Fort Greene /Clinton Hill neighborhoods, painted on the outside wall of Tillie’s of Brooklyn on Vanderbilt Ave. at DeKalb Ave. Its creator, Ellie Balk, explains, “The goal for the Tillie’s Community Mural is to unify and bridge the varying aspects of the local community, giving all people a sense of connectedness. The mural will live at the pinnacle point where our neighborhoods meet. Tillie’s has become a home base for many Ft. Greene/Clinton Hill residents.”

With fiscal sponsorship and support from SONYA, this mural has been funded through a grant from the Puffin Foundation and with generous support of the Society of Clinton Hill. It is also supported by: the Landmarks commission of NYC; the Community Board of Kings County; building owner Danny Browne; Tillie’s owners, Patricia Mulcahy and Amos Yogev; and many enthusiastic community members. Says SONYA’s president, Kathleen Hayek, “We are excited about the Tillie’s Community Mural and would like it to be the catalyst for many more mural projects within our community.”