Under I‑91, Neighbors Fill In ​“Love”

As professional artist Ryan ​“Arcy” Christenson outlined an elaborate butterfly, a group of toddlers hurled paint at the wall and older kids added their own up-close touches — which was all part of the point.

The painting took place at an ​“Under 91” block party on Saturday, where community members and artists like Christenson picked up their paintbrushes and decorated the walls of the Interstate Under 91 underpass connecting the Upper State and Jocelyn Square neighborhoods at Humphrey Street. It was the latest in a series of public-art projects in which neighbors have taken back spaces lost to highway construction a half-century ago.

The once-dark concrete slabs on Humphrey had been transformed over the past week, as a team of talented artists worked day and night on an enormous new mural. But they weren’t quite finished. The word ​“love” in massive letters was still bare, waiting for hundreds of neighbors from both sides of the former highway-underpass dead zone to fill it in with their own designs. (Click here for a previous story detailing the process by which neighbors organized this project.)

Damian Paglia (pictured), the outliner of ​“love” and one of the organizers of the event, said he hopes painting together will bring people closer.

“This is about bringing communities together. This underpass really divides two different neighborhoods, and we’re trying to bridge the gap,” he said. ​“This piece is inspired by the community. We’re building community by making art together. This isn’t about who’s talented, or who can paint. This is about a collaboration. It’s a love fest!”

It certainly was a quite a festival, with pizza, dancing, and even a bounce house. People stood in line at a table, getting bowls of paint, or spray cans. The sidewalk was splattered with paint, and it seemed as though everyone else was too.

The underpass is now unrecognizable from its former foreboding self.

“Our main goal is to do something positive in this ​‘no mans land’ that acts like a physical barrier,” said Aicha Woods, the artist coordinator for the project. ​“A lot of people have to walk through here everyday, and it used to be a place that you wouldn’t want to go through. We want to make it feel like a safe, vibrant space.”

By the end of the day, it was vibrant indeed. People from different neighborhoods painted their names, their designs, and their messages all over the wall, leaving their marks for the world to see.