Spark Newton hosted a dedication ceremony for the arrival of a new mural on the Harry Gath Memorial Pool building in Newtonville’s Albemarle recreation area on Tuesday afternoon.
Amanda Hill painted the four-piece mural after being selected by a committee that included representatives from the Spark Newton Board, Friends of Albemarle, the Boys and Girls Club, as well as local artists and business owners. The mural was installed on September 15.
Paula Gannon, director of the City’s Office of Cultural Development, kicked off the event.
“This public art is so meaningful to the city,” Gannon said. “It adds such beauty, joy, and just fun when you come by.”
Spark Newton brought a proposal for the mural to the City of Newton. Once the City signed off on it, they were off and running. The City has final say on whether a piece of public art can be added to a government building. Gannon told Fig City News that there is a balanced mix of public art on private property and government property across Newton.
Gannon said she appreciates the connection between the Office of Cultural Development and Spark Newton, which was recently renamed from its former identity, Newton Community Pride.
“We’ve had a long-standing relationship with this wonderful nonprofit,” she said.
Gannon commended the work of Spark Newton. The mural will be seen by thousands of people as they walk by, she said.
“We welcome it with open arms,” she said. “It’s beautiful.”
Blair Sullivan, executive director of Spark Newton, said that part of the organization’s mission is to “amplify” the arts and culture scene. She told Fig City News she is thankful for the Mayor recognizing their work, and the Office of Cultural Development for their support.
“We are really excited to be giving this to the City,” she said. “We like to work in partnership with them to get more voices heard and more art out there.”
Mayor Ruthanne Fuller attended the event and said the mural will be enjoyed by all types of passers-by, from two-year-olds to 92-year-olds, and is a great addition to the Gath Pool building after the completion of a renovation in June 2024.
“Thank you for bringing us beauty,” Fuller said. “Thank you to the community members who invest their time and their money in making this a welcoming, inclusive, and beautiful community space.”
Spark Newton, formerly Newton Community Pride, is a 36-year-old local nonprofit that builds community through supporting free arts and cultural events, intriguing public art, and vitalized public spaces. Dinny Star, a board member and chair of the public art committee for the nonprofit, said the selection committee was “rigorous” in deciding on the artist to complete the mural. Amanda Hill’s work stood out within a large and competitive group of submissions.
“Amanda’s murals are bold, bright, engaging, and will enliven Albemarle recreation area for years to come,” Star said.
Hill said the project was inspired by the many waterways found across Newton and the rest of Massachusetts. Hill wanted to evoke a sense of weightlessness through the mural. She tied the work to the pool as well as to natural bodies of water in the area such as brooks, streams, and ponds. She also played with the coloring of the fish to add a “whimsical” element.
Hill told Fig City News she is accustomed to working on a wall directly for her murals, but this time she painted the four panels in a studio. Judging the color in the studio was difficult because she typically works in natural light, painting murals outside.
“It was a fun process,” she said. “It was sort of new for me.”
Hill said she halted her other smaller studio work to focus on this work. She worked on it intermittently over the span of a couple weeks, between teaching art classes at night at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education.
Grey Held, a poet and board member at Spark Newton, said he loves the opportunity to showcase public art and was glad to see the project reach the finish line.
“It was a wonderful event to bring out public art,” Held said. “It’s a joy to be on a board that supports public art and public poetry.”
Last spring, Held led a poetry project with Spark Newton to install haiku poetry on yard signs all over the city.
“Spark Newton is so proud to give these murals to the people of Newton as we continue to build community through creativity,” Star said. “More public art is on the way.”
