A long-neglected 86-year-old work of art at a Brooklyn NYCHA complex has been restored to its former glory \u2014 and is now worthy of the Smithsonian, according to its champions.<\/p>\n
The stunning 80-foot-long concrete frieze, \u201cExodus and Dance,\u201d was created in 1939 and installed in front of the Kingsborough Houses in the Weeksville section of Crown Heights \u2014 home to one of the nation\u2019s first free black communities \u2014 two years later.<\/p>\n
The stunning 80-foot-long frieze in front of NYCHA\u2019s Kingsborough Houses in Brooklyn is worth the trip to see. Public Housing Community Fund<\/p>\n
The historic treasure\u2019s etched reliefs depict biblical imagery and dance motifs to convey \u201cspirituality, community and joy,\u201d proponents said.<\/p>\n
It was created by renowned Harlem Renaissance-era sculptor Richmond Barth\u00e9, whose work has been featured in the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.<\/p>\n
But despite community pride surrounding \u201cThe Wall,\u201d as it\u2019s called by Kingsborough residents, the art fell into incredible disrepair over the decades, said city Public Housing Community Fund Executive Director Alex Zablocki.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe wall had been defaced with graffiti and due to its age, the frieze was cracked and parts were missing,\u201d he told The Post.<\/p>\n
After locals championed its restoration in 2018, NYCHA received $1.8 million in funding for the effort from former City Council Speaker Corey Johnson and ex-council member Alicka Ampry-Samuel.<\/p>\n
Another $650,000 in funds were acquired by the nonprofit Public Housing Community Fund from a $2 million Mellon Foundation grant, which will also support an artist-in-residence program, oral history project and \u201cstory walk.\u201d<\/p>\n
An artisan painstakingly repairs a damaged portion of the concrete frieze.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Wall\u2019s\u201d refurbished art panel was unveiled to the public Aug. 7.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s like something you\u2019d see at the Smithsonian or in Washington, DC,\u201d Zablocki said of the revitalized local treasure. \u201cIt\u2019s really special, for it to be in public housing.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The renovation project bagan in January 2024, when artisans from EverGreene Architectural Arts in the Bronx \u201cmeticulously\u201d examined every panel of the massive artwork to identify cracks and missing elements, Zablocki said.<\/p>\n
\u201cEach panel was separately and meticulously moved from the brick wall and shipped off to The Bronx in crates,\u201d Zablocki said, adding that experts rebuilt and recreated some missing pieces using fills, molds and archival photos for comparison.<\/p>\n
The work of art depicts \u201cblack figures in celebration and migration.\u201d
Instagram \/ @ronnetterileyarchitec<\/p>\n
\u201cThere were missing faces in some cases \u2013 or a missing finger or arm,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The painstaking process landed the effort a Moses Award for Preservation Projects this year by the New York Landmark Conservancy.<\/p>\n
The revitalized piece was transported back to its Brooklyn home last summer. The historic artwork has since been sealed to endure the elements, as well as joined by commemorative plaques and an \u201cartistic white light,\u201d Zablocki said.<\/p>\n
Renowned Harlem Renaissance-era sculptor Richmond Barth\u00e9 created the historic treasure. Public Housing Community Fund<\/p>\n
The restored public art project was feted at its unveiling with a ribbon-cutting ceremony \u2014 where officials praised it as a part of Weeksville history.<\/p>\n
\u201c \u2018Exodus and Dance\u2019 is a piece that celebrates the black community and its rich history here in Weeksville,\u201d said Deputy Mayor for Housing, Economic Development, and Workforce Adolfo Carri\u00f3n, Jr.<\/p>\n
\u201cResidents at Kingsborough Houses are fortunate to have this majestic piece of art as a landmark on their campus, and I am thrilled to see that it is restored and honored today, so that future generations will continue to recognize those who came before them, and understand the power of art to celebrate life,\u201d Carri\u00f3n said.<\/p>\n
The public art project reopens to the public Aug. 7 \u2014 complete with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Public Housing Community Fund<\/p>\n
The restoration is only the first phase of the initiative, which seeks to implement a \u201cstory walk\u201d around the frieze, too.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe project is a powerful example of how placemaking and public art in open spaces can foster community connection and deepen residents\u2019 engagement with their surroundings,\u201d Zablocki said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe documentation and historical preservation aspect will serve as a blueprint for future projects that seek to empower communities and honor the legacy of NYCHA.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A long-neglected 86-year-old work of art at a Brooklyn NYCHA complex has been restored to its former glory…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":173116,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,1037,1121,38535,5248,405,403,7619,5226,5225,5228,5227,36798,67,586,132,5230,68,1154,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-173115","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-art","10":"tag-brooklyn","11":"tag-crown-heights","12":"tag-metro","13":"tag-new-york","14":"tag-new-york-city","15":"tag-new-york-city-life","16":"tag-newyork","17":"tag-newyorkcity","18":"tag-ny","19":"tag-nyc","20":"tag-nycha","21":"tag-united-states","22":"tag-united-states-of-america","23":"tag-unitedstates","24":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","25":"tag-us","26":"tag-us-news","27":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115086832713960673","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173115","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=173115"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173115\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/173116"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=173115"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=173115"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=173115"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}