The Heart of Hustle
A CAW mural for the Real Estate Board of New York celebrates the rich diversity of NYC’s built environment and those who inhabit it.
The “Art Avengers” hustling to create a mural that captures the energy, diversity, and ambition of the greatest city in the world.
“You’ve captured the energy, diversity, creativity, and ambition that makes this city unlike any other place in the world. As people visit our offices in the future, they’ll see the skyline, the neighborhoods, the buildings, and the people reflected in your work. They’ll be reminded that New York is not defined only by its architecture or its real estate, but by the people who bring those places to life every single day. That connection is especially meaningful to REBNY. Our members help build, own, manage, and care for the places where New Yorkers live, work, learn, shop, and gather. This mural reminds us that great cities are ultimately about people and opportunities.”
A Natural Partnership
The “Art Avengers”
Creative Art Works has a long history of support from, and collaboration with, the real estate sector in NYC. That’s why it felt so natural when the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) came to us to commission a mural for their headquarters. We were excited to partner on such a high-profile project. For this important commission, we recruited two of our longtime Teaching Artists Farah Mohammad and Becky Schuman, and Teaching Artist Assistant-in-Training Micaela Jimenez, to guide an ace team of youth apprentices (YAs), who gave themselves the name the “Art Avengers.”
Defining the Scope
At the pitch, the REBNY client team asked for more representation of the built environment, particularly places and landmarks that were distintinctive to New York City. From left: REBNY Chief Operating Officer Sandhya Espitia, President James Whelan, and Vice President of Digital Jason Ryan.
Our YAs learn that an important aspect of the design process is to make sure that the client’s values and ethos are represented in the final product. That’s why the first step of the design process is a client interview, followed later by a pitch where our YAs present their proposed design and receive feedback from our stakeholders. (You can read more about the pitch process in the blog “Ideas Become Reality.”)
The client team included REBNY President James Whelan, Chief Operating Officer Sandhya Espitia, and Vice President of Digital Jason Ryan. They had a clear idea that they wanted representation from all five boroughs, all walks of life, and the important places that make NYC distinctive.
In trying to incorporate so many elements, the Art Avengers’ initial design included natural spaces but was a bit too light on NYC’s distinctive skyline, architectural representation, and iconic landmarks.
Through various feedback meetings and thoughtful revisions, the Art Avengers refined their design to represent the intersection between the NYC they experience as young people and the bustling industry that REBNY represents.
CAW Youth Apprentice Joel Cepeda
“The left section of the mural features the daily lives of New York’s corporate workers featuring commuters and the Queens Plaza Station, a key transit hub for thousands of people each day.”
“We decided to include a subtle view of nature because in New York City, just as much as we have buildings, we also have a lot of nature. So here is a body of water with the Staten Island Ferry. For the park design, we took inspiration from the Brooklyn Bridge Park. The most important detail is the people.”
CAW Youth Apprentice Fenny Wang
CAW Youth Apprentice Mimi Hardman
“On the right side, we began with the Unisphere from Queens, to show multiculturalism. Next to that, we have the Wonder Wheel from Coney Island, which represents entertainment and events. Down below, we have the High Bridge to show that we can travel everywhere by buses, by trains, and by cars. Next to that, we have the Manhattan Bridge to show our historical architecture.”
From left: CAW Board Member Tiffany Theriault, CAW Executive Director Karen Jolicoeur, CAW Board Chair Andy Levin, REBNY President James Whelan, CAW Board Member Steven Soutendijk attend the unveiling of “The Heart of Hustle” at the REBNY offices.
The Unveiling
An impressive mural had to have an impressive unveiling. The culminating event for this project was attended by CAW Chairman Andy Levin, a Senior Vice President at BXP; CAW Board Member Steven Soutendijk, a Vice Chairman at Cushman & Wakefield; and CAW Board Member Tiffany Theriault, a Managing Director at Apollo Global Management. Shelby Gardner, Chief of Staff from City Council Member Virginia Maloney, also attended.
Members of the REBNY stakeholder team were also in attendance, including REBNY President James Whelan and Vice President of Digital Jason Ryan. Other representatives from REBNY included Manager of Office Operations Angela Caldwell, and Digital Content Creator Grace Boak. All were eager to see the actualization of their and the Art Avengers’ combined vision for the mural.
The completed mural at the REBNY headquarters
Read more about the young artists who created the new mural for REBNY
Read the commemorative brochure HERE.
Get a behind-the-scenes look at the making of “The Heart of Hustle” in this short documentary
This film was made by members of the “Art Avengers” under the guidance of Teaching Artist Maham Khwaja.
Watch the documentary HERE.
CAW Teaching Staff
Farah Mohammad
Teaching Artist
Becky Schuman
Teaching Artist
Micaela Jimenez
Teaching Artist Assistant-in-Training
Documentary Teaching Artist
Maham Khwaja
Teaching Artist
CAW Staff
Karen Jolicoeur
Executive Director
Ian Newton
Director of Finance & Administration
Clair Vogel
Development Manager
Scott Lucas
Manager of Marketing & Communications
Donna Manganello
Program Manager
Kevin Claiborne
Program Manager
Riki Sabel
Program Manager of Teaching & Learning
Emilio Vides-Curnen
Operations Coordinator
Madeline De León
Program Coordinator
Paola Gonzalez
Development & Communications Coordinator
EJ Meehan
Finance & Administration Coordinator
Our partners for this program include:
Our Thanks
Creative Art Works’ Public Art Youth Employment program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. The program also receives support from the AEO Better World Foundation, the Find Your Light Foundation, the LeRoy Neiman and Janet Byrne Neiman Foundation, the Milton & Sally Avery Arts Foundation, the Pinkerton Foundation, and the William Talbot Hillman Foundation. Creative Art Works’ programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
Additional funding was provided by numerous corporate and individual sponsors and donors.
