seen in Harlem

Posted on September 7, 2025 by Mary C

as the Harlem in New York City.

below: Be Kind; Be Well; Be Safe; Be Love

below: There is a mural on the side of the Amsterdam News building on Frederick Douglas Blvd. The full mural shows two women and a child under a baobab tree. “A Family’s Tree” by Alexandre Keto.

Mural by Alexandre Keto on the side of the Amsterdam News building in Harlem, 2 black women and a child under a baobab tree

below: By any means necessary

below: The top part of this painting has been covered by the ads. The words “Show Love to Artist”, as well as the gold crown that the man is wearing, have been obscured. That side of the wall was painted by Amir Diop.

below: Too many humans and not enuf souls. The blue is a remnant from a previous paste-up while the bleeding eyes are from yet another layer.

below: A portrait and white cross, by Brendan T. McNally

below: Handcuffs, a gun, and a bottle of liquor – but turn your back on all that and head towards reading and education.

below: Under the railway tracks.

emural under the railway tracks by an old station entrance

mural in grey tones, a man, and lots of text — Life’s path is not always so clear. Many of us look, but still don’t see. We hear but still don’t listen. This doesn’t mean that slavery doe not exist. Jesus struggles through great obstacles so that we could learn how to be free; how to find our way through darkness. Many of us will continue down a path of destruction like chained slaves toward their grave. Be free my friends, be free.

below: We fit you to a T featuring Mr. T. from the 1980s TV show, “The A-Team”. His given name was Laurence Tureaud.

below: We are New Yorkers.

mural, baseball player, words that say we are new yorkers

below: That’s a lot of words! Zeitgeist is defined as “the defining spirit or mood of a particular period of history as shown by the ideas and beliefs of the time” Perhaps this poster captures the zeitgeist of New York City in the 2020s.

a poster, 2 pages of plain white paper with lots of words written in black marker about Jesus and the blue pill

below: There are two large murals along the walls at Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Plaza.

two murals at Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Plaza.

below: “How Do I See Myself” by CAW Kids

mural, how i see myself, by caw kids, Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Plaza., harlem, new york city

below: Womens Health Community Mural

womens health community mural in Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Plaza., harlem,

below: Good night! Sleep tight!

Photos taken July 2024

East Harlem mosaics

Posted on September 3, 2024 by Mary C

I saw mosaics in two places, both close to the same corner – Lexington and East 104th.

The first set can be seen under the windows of what is now Exotic Fragrances Inc. – radiating Be Barrio Love and yo chicken.

mosaic images under a window of a store, be barrio love and a chicken, with word yo

part of a mosaic picture under a window of a store, little medallions with images in them, a woman, a man, a drum, a cactus, a ladder, a palm tree, a frog, a mandolin or guitar, and a water jug.

below: “This our home land here now” with a cheerful and accepting rainbow “everyone welcome”.

below: Shelves of fancy decorated perfume bottles looking lovely in the window, an interesting accompaniment to the “I got you” mosaic below it.

Around the corner, a whole mural made of little tiles. A picture of an elephant, a snail, and a lot of white doves circling the Earth. A row of brightly coloured tenement buildings anchors the picture. It was commissioned by Hope Community Inc. and was constructed by artist Manny Vega., The mural is titled ‘Al Ritmo de La Paz’ (To the Rhythm of Peace) and it is on East 104th Street, just east of Lexington Avenue,

5 four story apartment buildings in bright colours with different coloured windows

Photos taken July 2024

Grand Scale

Posted on July 19, 2024 by Mary C

below: The hoardings around a construction site at 125th and Lexington provided the canvas for a section of the ‘Grand Scale Mural Project’ in Harlem.

street art on hoardings in harlem new york

below: In total, over 100 artists participated in the project. See their website, Uptown Grand Central for more information. Some of the murals are shown below.

pink wall with text, title and description of street art project, grand scale mural project, in harlem, by uptown

below: Three happy friends; boys laughing together – by Ramarru

street art on hoardings in harlem new york, laughing boys, flowers and a butterfly

below: A painting by Minhafofa, aka Marissa Molina … with a tattoo on her shoulder that says Never stop dreaming… and she’s looking at you.

street art on hoardings in harlem new york, woman, with tattoo on shoulder that says never stop dreaming, long black hair in a braid,

below: It looks like he’s swaddled in pink fur. He is Hip Hopper Cam’ron and the portrait was painted by Zane (aka Ivan Jines) using tags of ‘Zane’, a technique that he uses frequently in his portraits.

street art on hoardings in harlem new york, portrait of Cam'ron, a hip hop artist, by Harlem artist Zane, face surrounded by furry hat, holding a pink phone

below: More of the hoardings…. mother and daughter at a table, many faces, a sailboat sailing through a mysterious scene (rough seas? atomic bomb? or just playful clouds?)

street art on hoardings in harlem new york, grand scale mural project

below: FM Ramos (aka Fausto Manuel Ramos)

below: Geometrics in bright colours mark a corner.

street art on hoardings in harlem new york, red, blue, and yellow geometrics with some green

below: Big red lips and musical black hair, by Olga Correa

street art on hoardings in harlem new york, by olga correa, women's faces, big red lips, long black hair in braids, musical notes on the hair and in the background

below: A section of the hoardings painted by LFP NYC (aka Luis F. Perez)

below: Nomsa, Evan Bishop

street art on hoardings in harlem new york, 125th and Lexington, grand scale mural project

Planet Harlem

Posted on July 16, 2024 by Mary C

From across the street it looks rather chaotic, colourful but a bit of a mess.

a red car is parked in front of a street art mural beside corner social store, planet harlem mural by paul deo

On closer inspection, it is an amazing collection of figures (mostly famous ones) and stories. This is Planet Harlem. It was started in 2012 by artist Paul Deo. At that time he won a competition to paint a mural by Corner Social (still there!) at 126th St and Malcolm X Blvd. Rucker on the basketball player’s shirt is a nod to Rucker Park, a Harlem park with a basketball court where a number of “stars” honed their skills.

I wish that I could name all the people that this mural celebrates. There is Barak Obama as well as Micheal Jackson, the Jackson Five, and Aretha Franklin but there are other politicians and entertainers too.

A Harlem landmark, the Apollo Theatre features prominently in the mural.

A black panther lurks here too.

Planet Harlem Story is a website to visit if you are interested in more of the story behind the mural.

Another source for more information about the mural and Harlem’s history can be found at ‘City Lore’ (a site about NYC) where this quote is from: “As the growth in the Black Harlem population continued in the 1920s from places like lower Manhattan, the southern US states, and parts of the Caribbean, an artistic and cultural movement grew to highlight the connections between self-expression, creativity, and Black heritage. Harlem specifically became a place for educators, scholars, writers, jazz musicians, singers, dancers, poets, and activists like Alain Locke, W.E.B. Du Bois, Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Marcus Garvey, Duke Ellington, Alberta Hunter, and so many more….”

part of planet harlem mural by Paul Deo, Dapper Dan

The word ‘Infinity’ is written on the man’s gold sleeve. His other sleeve says ‘Faith’.

Spirit of Harlem

Posted on July 12, 2024 by Mary C

Near 125th subway station (A/B/C) there is a mosaic mural. Original artwork done by Louis Del Sarte and made into a mosaics by Franz Mayer of Munich, 2005. After it was vandalized, it was restored in 2018. It’s a lively scene with musicians and dancers enjoying themselves. Vibrant. Alive.