New photo murals mounted in Central Square

LYNN – Passers-by under a newly painted black bridge in Central Square will be transported to a Spanish mountain top mid-sunrise, a midnight High Rock Tower, dreamscapes of trains and city tops and beyond thanks to a public art show unveiled Saturday.Seven 8-foot by 10-foot, weatherized photographs and mixed-medium art hang almost the height of the bridge, clearly visible to drivers, walkers and commuters in the busy intersection.View photos from the unveiling”It’s amazing, it’s really nice,” said Lynn resident Jay Robichaud, who took his family to see the photos unveiled Saturday during a downtown Lynn block party. “It just adds a clean and a colorful vibe in an area that doesn’t have it.”The photos, done by artists either from Lynn or with Lynn ties, are part of a beautification project from Lynn nonprofit Centerboard that first started with five local youth and their work.Centerboard and the artists raised more than $5,000 in an online community fundraising campaign to sponsor the art. The project is now in its third year and has grown to include artists from across the nation.”Would you rather see a blank bridge wall or would you rather see a red bird?” said Carla Scheri, programs director for Centerboard.Scheri said it’s also been well-received by the community, as the public art ties into downtown Lynn’s growing art renaissance, which has thrived with various theaters, galleries, art-education nonprofits and music.Scheri said she hopes the photos will spark a discussion for those who drive through downtown Lynn and don’t know much about the area, other than that it had a problem with crime about a decade ago.”It gives people something to talk about, and it can be kind of this ?Aha’ moment of, ?Oh, wow, check this out,'” she said.Artist Kerry McDermott, whose piece depicts a sunrise from a monastery on a Spanish mountain, said she didn’t know much about downtown Lynn when she volunteered to join the project. Now she says the area and its organizations, like youth art nonprofit RAW Art Works, have inspired her as she pursues a possible career in art therapy.”[Lynn] has a really bad rap, and it’s not fair,” she said.And everyone involved in the project is pleasantly surprised that in three years of art on the bridge, no one has defaced one of the works.Project coordinator Adam Miller, whose half-photo-half-painting is also on display on the bridge, said it speaks volumes about how much people respect and enjoy public art.”It shows the idea has momentum, it has legs,” he said, as motorists gave friendly honks.The pieces will hang in Central Square for about a year and Centerboard and Miller have plans to commission more.”We’re only going to get better at this,” Miller said.Amber Phillips can be reached at [email protected].