About
Steve Powers// A Love Letter to Syracuse
View the Official Press Release Here.
Building on his now famous mural project in Philadelphia, Stephen Powers and his crew of painters have
come to Syracuse to transform what has been a colossal barrier between two very disparate neighborhoods
into a point of interest, a gathering spot, and a conversation.
Phrases like “NOTHING TO DO IS EVERYTHING WITH YOU,” and, “I PAID THE LIGHT BILL JUST TO SEE YOUR FACE” are now painted on the surfaces of three formerly rusty, forgettable train bridges. Powers created these messages through conversations he had as his crew went door to door and attended community meetings to ask people about the city, all in conjunction with Syracuse University Chancellor and President Nancy Cantor’s visionary projects, the Near Westside Initiative and COLAB. The goal is to use public art as part of a plan to revitalize a city neighborhood — and in the process reexamine the traditional relationship between university campuses and their surrounding neighborhoods.
Powers’ hand-painted signs draw on years of his own work as a painter and graffiti artist, but also on a long
tradition of making, advertising, and handcrafting. Coming to Syracuse, a city that exemplifies the model
mid-size, post-industrial rustbelt city under reinvention, is part of a national movement of change, a
Rustbelt Renaissance, driven by a creative economy.
“The goal of the project is to ultimately bridge the Near Westside community to downtown, which will give access to new markets and resources for residents in the neighborhood,” says Maarten Jacobs, director of the Near Westside Initiative. “When conceiving this project, we knew we had to commission an artist who could bring both the talent and social consciousness needed to make the intersection a celebrated space that no longer acts as a barrier, but instead bonds neighborhoods and people together.”
The Near Westside Initiative, working in concert with the Connective Corridor, which aims to better connect Syracuse University to downtown and the cultural, civic and business sites in between. The project has been conceived and facilitated in partnership with COLAB [collaboration laboratory], a visionary initiative by Chancellor Cantor that acts as a hub between the University, industry and community. COLAB is housed in the College of Visual and Performing Arts.
In addition to the Love Letter to Syracuse murals, COLAB has brought to the city documentary filmmakers Faythe Levine and Sam Macon, of Sign Painter Movie Productions, to document Powers and his crew during the installation process for Levine’s new film about the American tradition of sign painting. Levine is best known for her documentary “Handmade Nation: The Rise of DIY Art, Craft and Design,” which explores the new wave of art, craft and design capturing the attention of the nation. Levine traveled to 15 cities and covered more than 19,000 miles to interview artists, crafters, makers, curators and community members for the film. Levine is an author, artist, curator and prominent figure in the DIY Ethic indie craft movement.
Thanks so much for this very cool, transformative effort.
I saw them doing it last night on my way to OCC & was so curious…glad to see info on FB. I like it, it’s very cool!
Thank you. Such a lovely sentiment that Syracuse sorely needs.
This is absolutely fantastic. More!
Why do we need to have Espo do this work? There are MANY skilled artists who live in Syracuse that would love a project like this, myself included. Was there even a thought of hiring someone who actually lives here???
Someone here should have shown interest, or volunteered. Syracuse needs to step up and take initiative.
I didn’t see anything in the news or on any locally based websites announcing the project until it was already halfway done, and as far as I know, none of the artists I know locally heard anything either, or word would’ve gotten around. This is not a huge community we’re talking about. If a search for local artists was conducted, it wasn’t done very well.
I agree! As a syracuse artist (who actually paints on legal walls not even 1000 feet from that bridge) I had to drive past that every time I went to paint. And it was extremely discouraging to know that they didn’t even try to commission local, homegrown artists as well.
Bravo! Fantasic project!
The effect these works already are having is phenomenal. It has gotten people thinking, people on the street actually talking about what art is! Beyond that, the poetry captures dead on the positive vibe in this town. Way to go, Steve and crew!
This is so inspiring to see, I want to spread the love!
If only graffiti of the illegal variety (however just as aesthetically pleasing) was able to receive such glowing reviews….