Liz Alderman To Unveil Her First “Put a Bird On It!” Mural Along City Island Avenue In The Bronx On October 23rd As Part of Award Program
Bronx, NY – Artist Liz Alderman is one of a robust variety of New York City-based artists to receive $5,000 through the City Artist Corps Grants program, presented by The New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA), with support from the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME) as well as Queens Theatre.
Liz Alderman was recognized for her dynamic paintings of birds and her “Put A Bird On It!” public art proposal* to paint large-scale murals of birds throughout the five boroughs.
As part of the City Artist Corps, Alderman will “put a bird” on a 32 foot-wide, 8 foot-tall expanse of construction fencing along 521 City Island Avenue in the City Island neighborhood of the Bronx.
ABOUT THE PROJECT:
The purpose of the City Artist Corps program is to help pull New York City through the COVID-19 pandemic with the very assets our global arts capital is best known for in the first place: our artists.
With this mission in mind, Alderman set out to revisit an extraordinary point of reconnection with nature that developed in the earliest days of the pandemic. In those first tense weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic, when businesses were abruptly shuttered, transit was slowed to a near stop, and the normal din of the of metropolis had quieted, New Yorkers began to hear something previously inaudible: the birds.
This auditory experience, paired with weeks of socially-distanced walks past empty buildings, bland office facades and ghostly transit hubs led Alderman to an “aha moment”: “I should ‘put a bird on it!’”
With an obvious nod to the now-classic IFC sketch comedy series Portlandia starring Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein, and it’s emblematic vignette “Put A Bird On It,” Alderman decided to cast all irony aside and actually “Put A Bird On It!” in the real world and for the greater good, starting in her own community of City Island in the Bronx.
Alderman’s first “Put A Bird On It!” mural features birds local to the Pelham Bay Park area such as Ospreys, Egrets and Gulls and was painted over the course of several weeks in September and October.
The project will culminate in an unveiling ceremony for the public on Saturday, October 23, from 2-4pm at 521 City Island Avenue [RAIN DATE, Saturday, November 6] with hot beverages provided by local cafe Clipper Coffee as well as performances, readings, bird calls and speeches by City Island residents.
The unveiling ceremony will be capped off with a reception from 4-6pm across the street at local eatery Archie’s Tap & Table [536 City Island Ave]. Chef Alexander Pertsovsky will debut a new custom “Flocktail” for the occasion alongside beer and wine specials.
Over the course of three award cycles, more than 3,000 artists have received grants to engage the public with artist activities across New York City’s five boroughs this summer and fall. Artists can use the grant to create new work or creative activities across any discipline. The program is funded by the $25 million New York City Artist Corps recovery initiative announced by Mayor de Blasio and DCLA earlier this year.
Alderman’s work can be explored further on her website: www.LizAlderman.com. Contact: Liz@LizAlderman.com
Bronx, NY – Artist Liz Alderman is one of a robust variety of New York City-based artists to receive $5,000 through the City Artist Corps Grants program, presented by The New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA), with support from the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME) as well as Queens Theatre.
Liz Alderman was recognized for her dynamic paintings of birds and her “Put A Bird On It!” public art proposal* to paint large-scale murals of birds throughout the five boroughs.
As part of the City Artist Corps, Alderman will “put a bird” on a 32 foot-wide, 8 foot-tall expanse of construction fencing along 521 City Island Avenue in the City Island neighborhood of the Bronx.
ABOUT THE PROJECT:
The purpose of the City Artist Corps program is to help pull New York City through the COVID-19 pandemic with the very assets our global arts capital is best known for in the first place: our artists.
With this mission in mind, Alderman set out to revisit an extraordinary point of reconnection with nature that developed in the earliest days of the pandemic. In those first tense weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic, when businesses were abruptly shuttered, transit was slowed to a near stop, and the normal din of the of metropolis had quieted, New Yorkers began to hear something previously inaudible: the birds.
This auditory experience, paired with weeks of socially-distanced walks past empty buildings, bland office facades and ghostly transit hubs led Alderman to an “aha moment”: “I should ‘put a bird on it!’”
With an obvious nod to the now-classic IFC sketch comedy series Portlandia starring Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein, and it’s emblematic vignette “Put A Bird On It,” Alderman decided to cast all irony aside and actually “Put A Bird On It!” in the real world and for the greater good, starting in her own community of City Island in the Bronx.
Alderman’s first “Put A Bird On It!” mural features birds local to the Pelham Bay Park area such as Ospreys, Egrets and Gulls and was painted over the course of several weeks in September and October.
The project will culminate in an unveiling ceremony for the public on Saturday, October 23, from 2-4pm at 521 City Island Avenue [RAIN DATE, Saturday, November 6] with hot beverages provided by local cafe Clipper Coffee as well as performances, readings, bird calls and speeches by City Island residents.
The unveiling ceremony will be capped off with a reception from 4-6pm across the street at local eatery Archie’s Tap & Table [536 City Island Ave]. Chef Alexander Pertsovsky will debut a new custom “Flocktail” for the occasion alongside beer and wine specials.
Over the course of three award cycles, more than 3,000 artists have received grants to engage the public with artist activities across New York City’s five boroughs this summer and fall. Artists can use the grant to create new work or creative activities across any discipline. The program is funded by the $25 million New York City Artist Corps recovery initiative announced by Mayor de Blasio and DCLA earlier this year.
Alderman’s work can be explored further on her website: www.LizAlderman.com. Contact: Liz@LizAlderman.com
