Artist Maximiliano Bagnasco works on a portrait of two iconic Puerto Rican singers, Hector Lavoe (left) and Bad Bunny (right).
Reminder Publishing photo by Tyler Garnet
HOLYOKE — New art installations have been displayed at the Armour Yard, courtesy of Beyond Walls. Shipping containers as large as 40 feet in length feature murals by world-class artists.
This marks the fourth time that Beyond Walls has partnered with the city of Holyoke to bring large-scale public art to the community.
Beyond Walls Founder and Executive Director Al Wilson talked to Reminder Publishing about the organization and current project in Holyoke.
Beyond Walls is a nonprofit organization with the mission of activating public spaces to strengthen communities. They largely focus on former industrial cities, mostly in Massachusetts.
“We’re mostly known for our epic, large scale street art,” Wilson said.
Beyond Walls brought in 40 feet, 20 feet and 10 feet shipping containers that served as canvases, but can also store different amenities for the eventual programs that would be hosted there.
There were four artists who were working on the pieces from Aug. 10-13, including Maxx Bagnasco of Buenos Aires, Ruben Ubiera of the Dominican Republic and Golden 305 of Venezuela.
Artist Octavio Fraguero talked about his mural which says “Puerto Rico” and is designed in the shape of the island.
He said, “That is my art, put letters into the shapes related with the same message. In this case, it’s a tribute for the community. I know a ton of Puerto Ricans live here — it’s just something to make them special and they can enjoy public space.”
During the previous projects in Holyoke, Wilson said the community expressed a desire to have an open air public space to host a variety of different events and festivals.
Beyond Walls identified the current parcel between Race Street and Main Street because it abuts the Puerto Rican Cultural District in Holyoke. A lot of the mill buildings on and around Race Street have also been converted into housing, restaurants and workspaces.
This led to Beyond the Armour Yard, Holyoke’s newest community space, developed in partnership with Beyond Walls. Just steps from the original Armour Yard, the dynamic new hub hosts “Mondays at the Armour Yard” and is now available for community events throughout the week.
“The key here is the access is free,” Wilson stated, “We’ve had folks come down and string a volleyball net across two pieces and start playing. We’ve had folks that have had festivals here and fun stuff here and then you’ve got this sort of more formal programmatic stuff.”
Wilson said Beyond Armour Yard is open every Monday night with a rotating lineup of food trucks, live music and alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.
The space includes an inhabitable sculpture called “Bend” and other shipping containers with art installations a couple months ago.
Wilson called the current art installation version 1.2, which includes the new pieces of art as well as signage, wayfinding and branding for the site.
Wilson said this is an “iterative” process and hopes the community continues to share feedback on beyondwalls.org and Explore Holyoke so when they come back for year two with more amenities, more shipping containers and new art, they can build on the current site to satisfy more peoples needs.
Serving as a welcoming gateway to Holyoke’s Puerto Rican Cultural District, Beyond Armour Yard is a space all about connection, culture and creativity.
Wilson also talked about some of the murals and said, “We want this to be very friendly to all, and so we’ve put out an emphasis on making sure the Puerto Rican community, old and new, is reflective of some of the artwork that’s here and so, that hopefully is inviting and says, ‘Hey, you’re seen and you’re heard and we’d like to have you activate this space and feel ownership of it.’”
Readers can check out exploreholyoke.com to learn more and see the schedule or check out beyondwalls.org to learn more about the project and future plans.
The art on the shipping containers can also be a boost to the local economy, according to Wilson.
He explained “You can grab a cup of coffee or grab a drink together around here and walk around the area. There’s no barrier of entry with street art. There’s no cost to take this in. You don’t have to dress or behave in a certain way. You don’t have to be quiet and stand in front of the piece for a set period of time.”
