By Bill Parry
5Pointz is going back to school, in Queens this weekend.
The curators of the former graffiti mecca in Long Island City, Jonathan “Meres One” Cohen and Marie Cecile Flaguel, will reunite with 100 aerosol artists and descend on August Martin High School in Springfield Gardens for a unique project.
The artists will help a team of 20 youths called “Operation Skittles” transform the white-walled corridors of the school into spaces of art and inspiration. Over the course of Saturday and Sunday the combined groups will brighten the entire school with original artwork.
“I can’t imagine a better way to keep the spirit of 5Pointz alive in Queens,” Cecile Flaguel said, adding that this will be the first time that an entire school in New York City has been painted with art, in 48 hours.
Flaguel and Syreeta Gates, the “dream director” of the Future Project at August Martin, have worked closely as a team to make the project happen. The response to the artists’ call made by Meres One has been “overwhelming” and their generosity “humbling,” according to Flaguel.
“They’re all donating their time and all of the supplies that are necessary for this project to succeed,” she said. Their common goal is to inspire the students and change one wall at a time at the high school once known as “the worst in Queens.”
The school had a graduation rate of 39 percent in 2013 and got an “F” in student performance and progress, according to the City Department of Education. “We want to make it a place where students want to be, want to learn again – that’s the inspiration that we’re hoping to provide with this project,” Flaguel said.
This will also be the first major project in Queens for the 5Pointz aerosol artists since they lost their home at 22-44 Jackson Ave. in Long Island City in January 2014. The block-long warehouse complex belonged to Jerry Wolkoff, who went on to demolish it this summer to make way for two luxury high-rise residential towers on the three-acre site.
On the night of Nov. 19, 2013, Wolkoff gave the order for workers to whitewash over more than 350 murals of street art after Brooklyn Federal Court Judge Frederic Block ruled against the 5Pointz artists who sued to save their work.
Since then, the artists have scattered while Meres One created the art for a promotional campaign for New York City’s newest professional sports team, The New York City Football Club. His logo could be seen on buses, billboards, and even the JumboTron in Times Square. Meres One also had a successful solo show at Brooklyn’s Lowbrow Artique.
August Martin High School is located at 156-10 Baisley Ave. in Springfield Gardens. The the painting event will not be open to the public. The completed project will be revealed in June with a large art show featuring the works from the artists and the students.
“This is not about going to a school and painting for a weekend,” Cecile Flaguel said. “This is the beginning of a long relationship with the school and its students. We’re hoping the inspiration will help get the graduation rate to 60 percent and, of course, we are thrilled to be back in Queens.”
