Paint The Park took place in Mulgrave Park, Halifax between October 12th and 16th. This event was organised by The Blackbook Collective, in collaboration with Jeremy Williams, the Youth Art Connection, and East Coast Lifestyle.
The Blackbook Collective is run by Joey Cook and Mike Burt of Halifax, Nova Scotia. Joey said, “Mike and I were both doing murals, then linked up started working together. We realized that we needed a large stock of paint so we figured we may as well open a shop and sell it as well.” Soon after, “while out trying to get jobs (painting murals) we realized that graffiti has been misrepresented in a horribly negative way in Halifax, over the years; ruining all the art and mural culture for the city.” At this point, “our main goal shifted from selling paint, to making sure that our culture stayed alive and that the people of Halifax got to enjoy what we think is one of the best art movements of our time. We are here to promote/protect the scene and paint beautiful things.”
Both local and world renowned artists participated in this event, including Bacon, Jarus, Axe, Monk.e, Aper, Christian Toth, Swade Owens, Rifle, Premo, Space, Foes, Dtek, Dnut, and Ribs.
Joey says that this event happened very organically. It began when The Blackbook Collective was commissioned by the Mulgrave Park community to paint a memorial mural for a local athlete. Following a great response, Jeremy Williams and The Blackbook Collective recognised an opportunity to take it even further.
After pitching the idea to paint additional walls in the community, East Coast Lifestyle jumped on board and set up a meeting with the mayor. The group began fundraising, and The Blackbook Collective contacted artists such as Axe K6A, who they have worked with in the past. To select the artists, Joey and Mike sat down and made a list of artists that they already knew, and a list of artists that they followed and decided would be a good fit for this event. Some of the artists they worked with were people who they have idolized since the beginning of their careers.
Joey said that the important thing, to them, was that, “we wanted to have a festival that was art done by graffiti writers. All graffiti writers. Everyone in our festival came from a graffiti background which was very important to us to help showcase the positives.” He said that they were lucky enough to have contacts who could help them make connections with world renowned artists, “Big shout to those people!”
Monk.e, who has painted for about 20 years, said that the community response was overwhelming. “Once the people felt that we were there to give them something, they became really open and generous. I was especially touched by the story of Africville, and the way the local community uses it as a symbol of resistance in the fight against racism.”
Africville was a black community in Halifax that faced neglect and discrimination at the hands of the city, which eventually resulted in the relocation of the community’s population to public housing in areas such as Mulgrave Park. Monk.e and Axe’s murals were inspired heavily by the stories shared with them by members of the community.
Monk.e also said that, “It’s important for Halifax to open themselves up to these kind of projects, because they’re really a tool to reinforce community, and to live life vibrantly and in creativity.” He added that he is thankful to both Mulgrave Park and The City of Halifax for hosting this festival. Additionally, he said that he is thankful to The Blackbook Collective for inviting him, and for creating a bridge between him and the community of Mulgrave Park.
The Blackbook Collective also said that the community response was amazing. “The mayor jumped behind it right away,” and provided them with a three-hundred foot wall as a new legal wall, and helped them to make connections with sponsors. They said that, “With anything like this there are always a few people against it, but in this case, they were trumped by the overwhelming support for this project. The support from the whole city has been great.”
Joey said that, “All the artists had a great time, theres something special about this festival.” He added that the festival was, “centred in a public housing area that doesn’t get much love,” but that, “when everything came together and the murals went up, I’m sure it’s hard to match the love and appreciation the artists got.” He also said that every artist involved has asked to be informed about the date of the festival next year.
Paint the Park was an official 4th Wall Justice, Art, Youth Forum, and was supported by the Michaëlle Jean Foundation, and the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, in addition to the organizers previously mentioned. The goal of this forum is to engage citizens and encourage youth artists to create positive community change.
The event will be back next year, but Joey promises that it will be even bigger, “more artists, more paint. more walls, more music.”
Article by Luke Beirne
Photo Credit: Thomas Phelan