Boogie’s art brightens a dark place
POUGHKEEPSIE – The new “Poughkeepsie Gateway Mural located on Main Street at the Route 9 underpass was officially unveiled at a ceremony on Wednesday afternoon.
The project, months in the making, has taken a dimly lit and uninviting underpass and covered it with vibrantly colored murals on both sides of Main Street. The project was the vision of the Poughkeepsie Alliance, Arts Mid-Hudson, O+ and the City of Poughkeepsie.
According to Mayor Robert Rolison, the concept made sense because “thousands of people pass through here every day and it makes the area much more inviting and welcoming.”
A nationwide call for muralists to submit proposals was answered by artists from the Hudson Valley, New York City, New Jersey, Chicago and Europe. Twenty-one submissions were judged by the project stakeholders who selected five finalists and presented those at a community hearing.
The community at large decided that a proposal from Hudson Valley Muralist Risa Tochigi a/k/a Boogie. The artist has completed several large hip-hop inspired murals, the most recent of which is located at World Trade Center 2.
Boogie said that her brightly colored Poughkeepsie project is designed to be a warm welcome for those that pass through and also is meant to “encourage young aspiring artists to take the leap and actually chase their dreams.”
Rolison said that the mural is important because “art is popular and Poughkeepsie is embracing the arts community.”
