Local Youth & Arts Organizations to Paint Annual Community Mural in Red Bank

FEATURED PHOTO: The 2017 Mural at Kitch Organic in Red Bank.

Indie Street Film Festival, Detour Gallery and Two River Theater are proud to announce that they will partner for Red Bank’s third annual Community Mural Project, which will take place this weekend – July 13-15.

This year’s featured artist is New Jersey based Ron Haywood Jones. Jones along with Indie Street Film Festival Artistic Director, Jay Webb, will lead a team of 20+ local youth to paint the south facing wall at 97 Broad Street, in between Double Take and Tiffany & Co. A diverse group of youth is being recruited to participate by Two River Theater’s Education Assistant Amanda Espinoza. Youth will represent local schools such as Henry Hudson Regional High School, Ocean County Vocational Technical School Performing Arts Academy, Red Bank Middle School, Red Bank Regional High School, Rumson- Fair Haven Regional High School, Trinity Hall and more.

This year’s mural theme will be “Celebrating the Arts in Red Bank”. With the town’s arts community thriving, there seems no better time to bring this message front and center. Both Two River Theater and Count Basie Center for the Arts are currently undergoing expansions, Indie Street Film festival is returning for its third year and creative businesses such as Detour Gallery continue to open their doors in town. To top it all off, Red Bank has been voted Best Downtown Arts District in the Discover Jersey Arts People’s Choice Awards three consecutive years in a row from 2015 – 2017.

This year’s Red Bank Community Mural project is sponsored in part by Red Bank RiverCenter.

“Red Bank has become a regional destination for the arts and the Community Mural Project that Indie Street has brought to Red Bank is one of the highlights of the arts & cultural scene here. Two River Theater, Detour Gallery, the Indie Street Film Festival and the Red Bank business community, through RiverCenter, have come together to support and promote the arts in Red Bank. Community members of all ages will be involved in bringing the mural to life. The project is a wonderful way to unite and inspire the community around the arts and we are thrilled to be a part of it,” says Red Bank RiverCenter Executive Director, James Scavone.

Painting times are Friday, July 13 from 6 – 8pm and Sunday, July 15 from 12 – 8pm. (Weather-Permitting)

THE INDIE STREET FILM FESTIVAL brings the most talented storytellers from across the globe to the screens of Red Bank, NJ. Born from a cooperative of filmmakers, Indie Street Film Festival combines top-notch independent cinema with industry discussions, live art and music experiences, and social gatherings that look to spark important conversations within our diverse communities. indiestreetfilmfestival.org

DETOUR GALLERY is a 10,000 Sq. ft. Contemporary art center located in the arts district of downtown Red Bank, NJ. Our space consists of three main exhibition spaces and several exterior locations for artistic engagement. We specialize in displaying and selling unique art that you would be hard-pressed to find anywhere except at world-class art fairs. At DETOUR we believe in breaking barriers of the art world by providing a venue for talented artists. We have an array of art from these rising stars which consists of realistic, abstract, outsider, folk, street art, urban art, pop art, hyper-realistic, photography, etc. The philosophy of Detour is to celebrate the underappreciated diversity of these emerging artists. detourgallery.com

TWO RIVER THEATER: Since its founding in 1994, Two River Theater has been committed to creating great American theater by developing and producing work by some of the country’s leading artists. We are proud to be viewed as a vital cultural resource in the community of Red Bank, New Jersey. Through 8+ theatrical productions each year (including world premieres, musicals, classics and theater for young audiences) and 40+ annual events happening around Monmouth County, we produce exceptional theater and cultivate engaged audiences. Two River Theater is under the leadership of Artistic Director John Dias and Managing Director Michael Hurst. tworivertheater.org.

RON HAYWOOD JONES, MURALIST: Born and raised in Michigan, Ron Haywood Jones attended college at Parson’s School of Design. He graduated with his BFA and went on to start careers in ad agencies and textile design studios. The influence of textile design is apparent in his artwork through the bright colors, repeated symbols, and textures. Nowadays we may bump into Jones on the streets of New York City. He is presently working on a series of artworks that have “an ongoing theme of past individualization of people from Africa, and past social movements circa the 1960’s and current urban issues” Jones remarks “my work is like some kind of urban Guernica.”