Studio News

Ballet of the Street 

Installation Site: DeCarlos Bar & Grill, Penn Street, Reading, PA

Lead Artist: Treasure Lopes

This new mural planned for Penn Street is based on the theme “Ballet of the Street”, to tell a story of how deeply-rooted communities exist everywhere and the importance of preserving the happiness and connections within them.

The conceptual inspiration for the mural; the “Ballet of the Street,” originated from a quote in the book titled, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, written by Jane Jacobs.  Jacobs, an activist who fought to preserve and bring respect to center city communities being cut up by expressways, described innovative ways to build a city on a foundation that preserves the preexisting social systems and encourages human interaction.

The visual inspiration for the mural is inspired by the artwork of Ernie Barnes, who incorporated “city-culture” and various diverse communities in his work which ran parallel to Jane Jacobs’ beliefs and advocacy. In his “The Beauty of the Ghetto” exhibition, he created a series of paintings based on major American cities and captured the life of the sidewalks in his distinctive art style which stylizes the movement of social interaction.

Lead artist for this project is Treasure Lopes, a 2022 Reading High School graduate and Commercial Design alumna of Reading-Muhlenberg CTC.  When the base colors of the mural are complete, Albright painting students will glaze the mural panels to add additional depth and volume. Installation is planned for late Spring 2024.

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