Bailey Fights Blight is a hands-on activist led initiative that focuses on Bailey Avenue in the University District. Last year, the organization led a number of grassroots initiatives designed to improve the aesthetic quality of the commercial street. Not only were there community cleanups and guerrilla gardening efforts, there was also a public art component. The public art was in the form of a mural (lead image) that was painted by artists Nick Miller and Chris Kameck of Team Razor Wire. The work of art, located at the corner of Bailey Avenue and Stockbridge Avenue, is called “Stocks are Rising“.
In 2017, another significant public art project will be completed in that same part of the city. As part of the effort, three service events are being planned. Members of the community are invited to take part in the process, which starts with a brainstorming session and ends with a completed mural. Check it out:
- Community Brainstorming Session – Saturday, May 27 10AM – The Varsity Theatre (3165 Bailey Ave). Facebook Event
- Community Wall Priming Day – Saturday, June 3 10AM – The Varsity Theatre (3165 Bailey Ave). Facebook Event
- Community Wall Priming Day – Saturday, June 10 10AM – The Varsity Theatre (3165 Bailey Ave). Facebook Event
This is the first of two murals that will be painted this summer, thanks to grant funding from Art Service Initiative of WNY and M&T Bank. According to Darren Cotton from The Tool Library, Team Razor Wire has been working with students from Westminster Community Charter School to help design one of the murals, which will be located in front of their school (24 Westminster Avenue – just off Bailey). Artist Edreys Wajed will be heading up a like-minded public process that will see the installation of a second mural, to be painted across the street.
Cotton noted in a recent email, “…the portion of Bailey we’ve been working on has seen a 40% decrease in blighted buildings, 18 improved facades, and a 600% increase in business licenses.”
To learn more about this directive, you can tune in to: www.thetoollibrary.org