New Bedford's downtown is becoming a destination for fans of murals

NEW BEDFORD — From the "Courting the Sky" mural at Clasky Common Park to the colorful Frederick Douglass mural on Pleasant Street, downtown New Bedford is bursting with vibrant, colorful art that can be seen across the city. Not only can visitors admire the work, but they can also take selfies and photos of themselves as part of the amazing art.

"What makes New Bedford's thriving mural scene unique is that the majority of them are designed and created by local artists. The few that may not have had local community input," said Margo Saulnier, director and creative strategist for the New Bedford Creative.

"There is a great sense of pride that our vibrant street art reflect us as residents of NB. I’m always impressed with the artist community that supports one another to create these murals — they are the best!"

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A mural featuring a crying eye with the icons of the Whaling City reflected in its pupil, the large mural painted of Sgt. William Carney at Carney Academy and a mural celebrating the Massachusetts 54th regiment, here are a few places to go check out some incredible wall art.

In the Sears Court alley, which connects Purchase and Pleasant streets in downtown New Bedford, the mural "In Motion" features a vibrant work of art created by Brian Tillett. It consists of silhouettes of local residents in motion. The mural is part of the 'Shared Streets and Spaces' project, funded by MassDot and under the management of Superflat NB.

Produced by Superflat NB in 2020, the giant mural depicting famous New Bedford jazz musicians on Hamilton Street features Armsted Christian, Paul Gonsalves, Bobby Greene, Rick Britto, Herbie King and Joe Livramento.

On William Street, near the NPS Visitor Center and Custom House, the 54th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Plaza and Mural is part of a tribute to all of the Black men who joined the Union Army in the Civil War. This location served as the recruiting station for the Fifth Cavalry, the 54th and 55th Regiments, as well as the U.S. Navy. Over 350 New Bedford citizens signed up between 1861-1865, according to the New Bedford Historical Society.

Located on a building near Custom House Square, graffiti artist Jeff Saint created a mural of a tearful eye with the symbols of New Bedford displayed in its pupil, surrounded by coronavirus spores. He and Ryan McFee, another graffiti artist, painted the mural with the goal of changing the spores to flowers once the virus has been eliminated, according to a previous Standard-Times article.

The giant whales painted on the outside wall of a warehouse on Route 18, known as a "Whaling Wall," was painted in 2005 by Robert Wyland. It was #93 in a series of 100 whaling walls painted over three decades. Wyland began the series on a parking garage wall in 1981 and finished his 100th wall at the 2008 Olympic Games in China as a lead-in for the Beijing International Stadium.

Visible from Route 18 near the Division Street intersection, artist Cedric Douglas created a mural on the side of one of the apartments at Reb Rose housing development in the south end. The subject depicts the concepts features all that lived at one time or another at the Ben Rose development and went on to be prominent members of the community.

Located on the back wall of 674 Pleasant St., Superflat NB's "Postcards to New Bedford" mural was another SuperFlats NB project to create multiple cards giving different artists an individual voice or "postcard" to represent their relationship to the city.

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"Postcards are of course, fundamentally, snapshots. Often of a place in time or an object of significance in a particular place, they can also be imaginative, artistic, and less literal," said Greg Pennisten in a previous Standard-Times interview.

The Clasky Common's mural "Courting the Sky," is inspired by the history of whaling in New Bedford. In the summer of 2019, artist Maria Molteni worked with community youth to teach them how to write using the Nautical Flag messaging system that ships used to communicate. (There is a flag for each letter of the alphabet.) The painted court features these flags which translate into secret messages.

In June 2022, as part of the 20mi2 three-day event across the city, the organization commissioned artists Gregory Pennisten and David Guadalupe to design a mural for he Dennison Memorial Community Center on 1st Street.

"It's a way for the community to really connect to each other and really get back to what's amazing about New Bedford," said Lillianne Condez, director of public relations for the center, in a previous Standard-Times interview.

Standard-Times staff writer Seth Chitwood can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on twitter:@ChitwoodReports. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Standard-Times today.