Mural Unveiling Celebration
“Quantum Bridge” by Aaron Noble for Heart of the City
Warehouse 508
508 1st St. NW, Downtown Albuquerque between Roma & Marquette
Warehouse 508 and 516 ARTS, in partnership with The City of Albuquerque Public Art Urban Enhancement Program, invited the public to celebrate the completion of “Quantum Bridge,” the Gateway to Downtown Mural by Aaron Noble in anticipation of Heart of the City, a collaborative project and exhibition organized by 516 ARTS.
The Mural Unveiling Celebration on Sunday, December 8, 2-5pm included a dedication by members of the Albuquerque Arts Board and staff at 2:30pm, DJ-ing by Gabriel of Ace Barber Shop, a display of sketches, photos and ephemera from the mural project, refreshments, and fun for all. Everyone was invited to meet the artists and hear them discuss the meaning behind the mural and its place within the vision for the future of the heart of our city.
Throughout the month of November, lead guest artist Aaron Noble worked with a team of youth apprentices to create this visual exploration addressing our city’s future and potential. The monumental, 180-foot long mural is displayed on the south and east facing walls of Warehouse 508, Albuquerque’s largest youth art and entertainment center, located on 1st Street NW between Roma and Marquette. The mural is visible form the bridge into Downtown on Martin Luther King Blvd. and from the Rail Runner and Amtrak trains. Noble says, ”‘Quantum Bridge’ embodies my response to the interests and challenges of the young artists of the Warehouse 508 mural program… [and] is a semi-abstract time travel epic with aesthetic roots in comics, graffiti, and hip-hop.”
Heart of the City (coming up February – April, 2014) examined the urban environment, exploring art, urban planning, cultural and economic development, education and community dialogue. The project featured a series of lead artists and apprentices working together to create art projects that explore issues of Downtown Albuquerque and incorporate youth visions for the future.
Aaron Noble is nationally and internationally respected, known for both his mural projects and his fine art, which is a synthesis of three distinct practices: comics, collage, and muralism. In addition to his large-scale achievements across the world, Noble is the co-founder of the Clarion Alley Mural Project (CAMP) that was formed in 1992 to create and facilitate opportunities for artists to paint murals on the Clarion Alley between Valencia and Mission Streets in San Francisco. 516 ARTS featured Noble in the exhibition Superheroes: Icons of Good, Evil & Everything In Between (2011), and it is a privilege for Albuquerque to have him back to create this lasting piece with and for our community. In keeping with the thematic nature of visions for the future of Downtown Albuquerque, “Quantum Bridge” will be an iconic “Tier 3” mural in the newly redeveloping City of Albuquerque Public Art Mural Program. Noble’s status as one of the country’s leading mural painters will provide a contemporary perspective to the city’s artistic landscape.
Mural apprentice artists: Lillian Deiterman, Ernest Encinias, Miguel Figueroa, Samantha Griego, Noah Kessler, Anthony Lugones, John Reid, Bianca Sanchez, Faustino Villa
For a link to more in-progress images for this mural visit: Flickr: QUANTUM BRIDGE
Image: Aaron Noble, Quantum Bridge (in progress), 2013, 180-foot mural