Popular Harlem Mural Project Is Back, Bigger Than Ever

EAST HARLEM, NY — Two years after a community initiative transformed East Harlem's green construction fences into vibrant works of art, the project is returning this summer — with an even larger canvas.

The Grandscale Mural Project, launched in 2019, invited 50 artists to come together over three weekends and create murals across 1,500 feet of drab, green plywood fences that surrounded the Metro-North station at East 125th Street and Park Avenue.

It proved wildly successful, brightening a corridor that had felt down-on-its-luck and earning writeups that named it one of the city's best art installations.

This year, organizers are bringing the project back, inviting up to 100 artists to paint new creations atop the old ones. A new, tantalizingly large space will also be up for grabs: the former Pathmark supermarket site that spans most of the block on 125th between Third and Lexington avenues.

The goal, like last time, is to create art that will "support and uplift the community," according to Carey King, director of Uptown Grand Central, which organizes the project.

Artist applications are open and being selected on a rolling basis through June, when organizers hope to have them all painted. Each artist chosen will receive a $500 honorarium, and priority is being given to artists with connections to Harlem, Upper Manhattan and the Bronx — as was the case last time.

"They were all people from the community that knew East 125th Street and knew how important it was to bring joy here," King said of the 2019 artists. "It was just a beautiful thing."

The new installation will also feature a 20-panel community mural designed by teaching artist Gera Lozano, which neighbors can sign up to help create, paint-by-numbers-style, on June 5.

At least one new mural is already taking shape: a depiction of the late rapper DMX, painted by the artists Evan Bishop, Katori Walker, Blazay and Tommy the Animator.

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The project's funders include City Councilmembers Diana Ayala and Bill Perkins, the city's Department of Small Business Services and the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council.

In the coming weeks, Uptown Grand Central will put out another, separate artist call: this time, to paint dozens of metal shop gates between Fifth and Lexington avenues, building off a 2017 project.

To learn more about the call for artist submissions, click here, or read more about the Grandscale Mural Project at Uptown Grand Central's website. To see the works in progress, stop by East 125th Street — and tag Instagram photos with the hashtag #grandscalemuralproject.