Lynn to celebrate public art

LYNN – In recognition of three new public art installations in downtown Lynn, Raw Art Works, The Downtown Lynn Cultural District, LynnArts and Visionspace Gallery will host a celebration of public art Friday, Nov. 7 from 3 to 7 p.m. in Central Square.Visitors can visit all three public art sites, meet some of the artists and enjoy refreshments.The three public art projects are The Lynn Mural Project by David Fichter, Yetti Frenkel and Joshua Winer; the 200-foot mural of the Ignite-Create-Connect project, by youth of Raw Art Works; and ART WAY by Jason Cruz.Visitors can see Cruz and his associate artists working on ART WAY during the celebration.At 3:30, David Fichter, Yetti Frenkel and Joshua Winer will formally unveil The Lynn Mural Project outside the LynnArts complex. The mural’s design took on two phases: in phase one Fichter, Frenkel and Winer worked with Lynn Public School students to create the bottom third of the mural.In phase two the artists designed and completed the upper two thirds of the mural featuring notable Lynn figures including Frederick Douglass, Hutchinson Family Singers, Elihu Thomson, Harry Agganis, Lydia Pinkham, Maria Mitchell, Alonzo Lewis, Vincent Ferrini, Jan Matzeliger, Mary Baker Eddy and Hiram Marble. Competitive project grants from the New England Foundation for the Arts and the Massachusetts Cultural Council supported the creation of the Lynn Mural Project.Additionally, on Nov. 15, from 10 to 11:30 a.m., the Downtown Lynn Cultural District will host Artists TALK, a conversation with the Lynn Mural Project artists at the Lynn Public Library.The event will include a moderated discussion and slide presentation. Fichter, Frenkel and Winer will also answer questions from the audience.Ignite-Create-Connect is a 200-foot mural that honors and thanks the community of civic-minded artists, writers, business owners, creative entrepreneurs, teachers, nonprofit leaders, committed city officials and youth who make the City of Lynn thrive.Young artists from Raw Art Works, from ages 7-18, took photos of the faces of Lynn, and inspired by these photos, more than 500 portraits.Included are self-portraits of the 150 young artists who created this body of work.This project is a partnership between Raw Art Works, the MBTA and the Lynn community.ART WAY – the Union Street tunnel – is designed to engage the public with vivid art that everyone can relate to. Cruz will be working on completing the installation and guests are welcome to watch him work.Centerboard’s Visionspace Gallery collaborated with the MBTA on the planning and installation of ART WAY. The Gallery received a grant from the New England Foundation for the Arts and utilized the funding to create and install the project with the help of local artists and vendors.The Downtown Lynn Cultural District was established in 2012. It seeks to revitalize the downtown area with arts and culture at its core. It is a productive citywide collaboration.