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Artists Unveil New Murals at 'Coolin' on Castleton' Festival

By Nicholas Rizzi | August 5, 2015 11:18am
 Richmond Hood Company will host a public art exhibition and sidewalk festival, "Coolin' on Castleton," on Saturday, Aug. 8, 2015.
Coolin' on Castleton
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WEST BRIGHTON — A series of new murals around Castleton Avenue — including one paying homage to Staten Island — will debut this weekend at a free sidewalk festival.

Clothing store Richmond Hood Company, with help from Assemblyman Matthew Titone, will take over the sidewalks of Castleton Avenue for the third annual "Coolin' on Castleton" public art and sidewalk festival Saturday.

The event will serve as a public unveiling of five walls around the neighborhood painted by nearly 50 artists from across the city, said Tariq Zaid, owner of Richmond Hood Company.

"We know that artists are essentially the creative bloodline to communities, without them you just have a stale environment, a stale neighborhood with no flavor," Zaid said.

"People need to see that people are lending their time and lending their skill sets and talents to beauty scaping."

Zaid worked with neighboring merchants to convince them to let artists paint murals on their outside walls for years. He has several new ones for this year's event.

Graffiti artist Kwue Molly helped co-curate who was invited to paint and the theme for each wall. He said he tried to bring large pieces he sees in other parts of the country to his home borough.

"I’m just trying to bring awareness to Staten Island," Molly said. "I see [murals] all over and people say ‘Oh it’s great,' so I’m like let me bring it here."

For the event, Molly asked local graffiti artists — including Chris Robots Will Kill, Veng and Prez Nwc — to paint postcards about their home borough for a piece dubbed "Island Love" on a wall in the alley next to Richmond Hood Company.

"It’s all postcards and everybody's actual feelings towards Staten Island," he said.

"Let’s keep it veered kind of towards Staten Island, basically just bringing fashion, art, music together to throw a block party."

The event will also open a new "Pillz Killz" community mural. In 2012, Zaid got local artists to paint the outside wall of his store with pieces that warn against the prescription drug problem running rampant in Staten Island, Zaid said.

While that piece has been painted over, Zaid thought it was important to have it up again and this time will let the community write their names, a name of somebody they lost, or draw something on the mural themselves.

"The problem hasn’t gotten any better," Zaid said. "We kind of felt that we needed to have that message out there again. Even if you’re not a fine artist, you don’t have to draw this big elaborate piece on the wall. Just go over there and sign your name if you support the 'Pillz Killz' message."

Aside from the art, the event will have DJs and live bands inside the "Artist Alley" next door to Richmond Hood. It will have also live painting, food from Nurnberger Bierhaus, prizes and a live barber competition that pits haircutters from across the city in a timed race to cut the best pieces on somebody's head.

Zaid said he's not done asking his fellow merchants to give up space for artists on their walls and hopes to eventually have the whole area covered with murals.

"Everybody who has a wall across the strip, if it’s bare and plain, let us get some cool and creative talented individuals to do something cool and creative on the wall," he said.

"Coolin' on Castleton" will be on Saturday, from noon to 7 p.m.