Drawing A Community Together Through Art

Imagine a field of sunflowers and a scroll of words, “Grow Together,” painted on the side of a shopping center. Throughout history, art has been used to educate, enlighten and elevate the spirits of communities. At Newmark Merrill, we are continuing that centuries-old tradition with our Community Art program, commissioning local artists to create unique works that bring inspiration and our shoppers together.

Our process is simple but deliberate, we select local artists with significant ties to the community — for example, Lin Fei Fei, a resident of Sacramento, was chosen to create Harmony on display at Southgate Plaza. Working with the artist, we create a vision that will resound with the community, and the artist begins their work, using our ground, walls, parking lots and common areas to bring the vision to life. In July 2020, we brought together 3 budding artists in the Inglewood area to collaborate and paint COMMUNITY, a piece that was inspired by the civil unrest. The piece has become an area for rotating artists to bring their story to life. It was recently repainted by Patel, a woman who moved to Inglewood as a teenager seeking refuge. Her story is being told throughout the four and a half foot tall letters.

But the art is more than just a bit of unexpected whimsy or a photo opp. In some communities, residents can’t access museums or children’s art education in school has been threatened by budget cuts — we can be their introduction to art, created by artists who happen to be their neighbors. These artworks become points of civic pride. The pieces are as unique as our centers and the shoppers who visit them.

Our hope is that these art pieces serve as a place of pride and an outlet to imagine beyond what they may see as a barrier for them, a tool or a hand extended to lift them up.