Artists give new life to an abandoned Trenton landmark

TRENTON, N.J. - Artists from around the world are breathing new life into a Trenton, New Jersey landmark.

Mural artist Sophie Ban is focused. Her work is just one of the murals sprucing up an abandoned parking garage in Trenton.

“I would like to get the microphone to start looking like a microphone,” Sophie said.

Using only spray paint, Sophie details her mural’s wings.

“This is a memorial of a good friend of mine, lost him suddenly this year. He was very involved in Trenton’s punk music, DIY scene,” she explained.

The New Jersey State Council on the Arts granted the Trenton Downtown Association $25,000 to support community-based art events called “Murals on Front Street.”

“I think a project like this is very uplifting for the city of Trenton,” Leon Rainbow, the mural’s curator, said. “I think that with everything shutting down with COVID, it brings a sort of normalcy back into the area.”

The parking garage is located at the intersection of Broad and Front Street and for the last four years, artists have come from all over the globe to decorate the walls of the garage.

“I feel like when times are stressed you need an escape, just having this out there really provides that,” Rainbow said.

___

For the latest local news, sports and weather, download the FOX 29 News app.

DOWNLOAD: FOX 29 NEWS APP