Yellow Warbler by Creative Art Works
Location: Montefiore Square, 138th Street and Broadway, New York, NY 10031
Painted:8/9/2022
About the Bird: This 250-foot-long mural on the eastern edge of Montefiore Square is a visual “love letter” from youth artists to the Hamilton Heights neighborhood where it is located. The design includes a Yellow Warbler, a welcome springtime sight inNew York City and across the United States. The warbler's bright, sweet songand open, cuplike nest are clues to its presencein woods, thickets,and even gardens. Though the Yellow Warbler is widespread today, rising temperatures are poised to push the speciesout of its breeding range in most of the lower 48 states. Keeping warming to just1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels could preserve half of that range.
The youth artists added two more birds to the mural, includinga Peregrine Falcon, a species that has since bounced back from the devastation caused by DDT and other pesticides. Today the raptor is a year-round resident of New York City and regularly nest on all of its bridges. Because the Peregrine Falconhas proven resilient and adaptable it is not thought to be in imminent danger from rising temperatures, but it does face other APP-change-related perils, like more severe wildfires and spring heat waves that may endanger the bird's young.
About the Artists:The nonprofitempowers young peoplethrough the visual and multimedia arts. Itworks in underserved neighborhoods of New York Cityinpublic schools, community centers, parks, and libraries to providedynamicart-making experiences for youth who otherwise lack access.Students are never charged forparticipation in its programs. Instead, Creative Art Works hires Youth Apprentices directly and acts as a worksite managerwith the NYC Department of Youth and Community Development Summer YouthEmployment Program.
The Youth Apprentices who produced this mural, called “Monte de Flores,” come from all five boroughs of New York City; they created and executed it in just six weeks. “It was cool to make art with other people, because, for the last couple of years, it’s just been me,” says Izzy Brinks, a student at Bard Queens. “Hopefully, this mural will make this park a better place.”
The teamincluded Teaching Artist Will Watson; Teaching Artist Assistants Erika Sabel, Liv Mourao, and Madeline De Leon; and Youth Apprentices Alecia Correa, Amyah Adrien, Anthony Batista, Aysyah Brown, Boris Gonzalez, Carl Delos Santos, Danial Brown, David Tovar, Dayanara Brooks, Gabriella Castilla, Gavin Willis, Izzy Brinks, Jonathan Hyman, Jose Fleitas, Julia Klein, Kayla Newton, Kaylin Williams, Kit Souvorova, Leslie Encarnacion, Letizia Gomez Caraballo, Lindsey Flores, Lyndia Guerrier, Mya Gomez, Nathan Tejeda, Runrun Chen, Sai Gomez, and Sophia Zorrilla.