LYNN — One Lynn, One Love is searching for street artists, muralists and volunteers to work on a Black Lives Matter (BLM) street mural set to be installed on July 24 and 25.
The mural will be located in front of the courthouse on Essex Street and will continue to Johnson Street, with a reverse mural beginning in front of City Hall and continuing to the front of Lynn District Court.
“This will bring the community together to make this important statement for our city,” said representatives from One Lynn, One Love.
The group stated it is looking for a lead artist to advise the “word leaders” on the designs of the letters; a lead engineer to manage production logistics, including mapping the size and placement of the mural; six word leaders to design and paint one word of the mural and delegate to volunteers for support; and volunteers to help fill in the mural and support various tasks throughout production.
One Lynn, One Love said it will provide the materials for the mural; storage; food and water; a travel stipend, if needed; and creative stipends for selected lead artists, word leaders and engineers.
One Lynn, One Love, a youth group founded by Carlos Prudencio and Damianny Garrido, brought the mural proposal to the city’s attention. It was approved in a unanimous City Council vote on April 27; on May 6, Mayor Thomas M. McGee signed a City Council order permitting the project.
In July, Lynn will add to the more than 174 communities worldwide with BLM murals.
Garrido said the location of the mural, being on Essex Street to City Hall Square, would “be in the middle of three institutions that have historically affected the lives of Black people.”
“This mural will unify us during all of the tragedies that we have gone through, not only in the last year, but in our whole lives,” Garrido said.
Funding for this mural will come in the form of a GoFundMe page, requested support from Eastern and Salem Five banks, crowdfunding and donations.
For any questions, interest or donations, contact [email protected]. The deadline for interested artists and volunteers to reach out is June 10.
