A NYCHA development in the South Bronx is now home to the tallest mural in the United States

“When we began we hoped to create the tallest mural in The Bronx. Then we learned it would be the tallest in New York City. Now, we’re celebrating the tallest mural in the United States,” said Tanya Pedler, President of the MAR Resident Association. 

Over approximately five months earlier this year, ArtBridge, Angurria, Pedler and Bronx native Fernando Ortiz hosted community workshops with MAR residents. These involved teaching locals about the process of making a mural, and querying as to how these residents wanted to see themselves represented. 

“Two key core concepts that were part of this mural were diversity and inclusion. So we wanted to reflect the diversity of the community, but we also wanted to ensure that it was inclusive,” Ortiz said. 

A local Muslim girl told Pedler about wanting to see a woman who wears a hijab like herself, which is reflected in the final piece. The top of the painting depicts a child with earmuffs, as a nod to community members with special needs. 

“The residents of MAR gave us their stories, and in them, every family in the Bronx can recognize its own. Now the whole Bronx can look up and see itself,” Angurria said.

Carmen Capone, a MAR resident, said she was honored to see the finalized mural unveiled. 

“Standing here today, I am filled with immense pride to be a part of this project, so historical and so impactful. On behalf of the entire Morrisania Air Rights community, we are thrilled to showcase this incredible masterpiece,” Capone said. 

“Un MAR de Gente / From Every Shore” was completed with support from the Public Housing Community Fund and a $165,000 grant from the M·A·C VIVA GLAM Fund. At the launch event for the mural on October 27, multiple local leaders spoke in support of the mural and emphasized the need for community and arts funding in the Bronx. 

“Oftentimes, when budgets are facing fiscal challenges, fiscal constraints, it’s usually the arts and education and the cultural programming that gets cut. An art teacher in a classroom. Or the arts program is transformed into something different,” Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson told the Bronx Times.

“I never want to lose sight of the importance of art and culture coming together in a real way, really supporting children, the painters, the designers. It’s an amazing form of expression that I’m proud that the Bronx can lead on.”

Senator José Serrano reiterated the notion of the Bronx as an arts and cultural hub. 

“The arts are the great equalizer. And we in the South Bronx, as been mentioned before by my colleagues, have proven time and time again that the South Bronx has been the place where the movements of the arts have changed the world,” Serrano said. “I think it’s fitting that we have the largest mural in America, and that it happens to be the most beautiful mural in America, because it tells a story.”

As Congressman Ritchie Torres runs for re-election on Nov. 3, he spoke of returning to Washington, D.C. and sharing the Bronx’s latest honor. 

“When I go back to D.C., I’m gonna ask my colleagues, ‘Do you know where the tallest mural is located?’ And I’m going to tell them it’s exactly where it belongs, in the Boogie Down Bronx,” Torres said. “Here in the Bronx, there’s no ceiling on how high we can rise, and how radically we can re-imagine public housing and the Bronx itself.”

Dylan Baker-Rice, Chief Asset and Capital Management Officer at NYCHA, emphasized the importance of reserving resources for community projects like Angurria’s mural.

“Our communities are often overlooked, and there’s been less investment in their housing. So while we work on improving their housing, we’re also wanting to make sure that it’s a place that’s beautiful, that residents love, that they’re proud to come back to. Projects like this help make that happen,” Baker-Rice said. 

The United States’ tallest mural remains on view at Morrisania Air Rights in the South Bronx.