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Lehigh Grad to Create Bethlehem Steel Themed Mural for SouthSide Arts & Music Festival April 28-29

ssamf-mural

Denton Burrows and Acclaimed Dripped on the Road Artists Creating Masterpiece on Third Street to Honor Bethlehem Steel and City’s Revitalization Through the Arts

BETHLEHEM, PA—Beginning April 25, traveling artist residency program Dripped on the Road, led by Lehigh University grad and Dripped on the Road co-founder Denton Burrows, is creating a dynamic mural installation in Bethlehem as part of the SouthSide Arts & Music Festival (SSAMF) April 28-29. The mural, designed to reflect the SouthSide’s rich steelmaking history, is a partnership between ArtsQuest and Lehigh University and will be created on the side of the building located at 24 E. Third St. in south Bethlehem.

Burrows, who earned his B.A. in Fine Art from Lehigh, is creating a 34-feet-high by 45-feet wide Bethlehem Steel-inspired mural featuring characters based on photos of real plant workers including a female steel worker. Burrows’ work will shine through rich brown tones, with shades of red and metallic silver and gold worked in. In sharply contrasting blue and gray colors, Dripped on the Road Artist Director Ramiro Davaro-Comas will create smaller comical and cartoonish characters that blend modern elements of Bethlehem with the city’s history. Other artists in the Dripped on the Road group will add in black and white pop-art features.

“The symbolism of this fusion of industrial imagery and personnel is to pay homage to the City of Bethlehem’s rich industrial history, predominantly Bethlehem Steel,” Burrows says. “But it is not just about the past; it is also to highlight the industrial and physical changes the city is currently going through as it grows and expands with new opportunity.”

Critically acclaimed for his illustrative works in both street and gallery mediums, Burrows was named one of the top street artists to watch by both Networka and Paper Magazine, and was featured in Creative Quarterly’s Top 100 Artists, Designers & Photographers of 2014. Burrows and the other artists will be working on the installation through April 29, making for an amazing photo opportunities during the week. The work will officially be completed April 30. On April 29, 3-5 p.m., the public can join Dripped on the Road for a free workshop as the artists talk about their traveling residency program and how to design and paint a mural from start to finish.

Also appearing at the SSAMF is Philadelphia-based artist Jay Walker, who recently finished his captivating “The Steel Worker” piece at the ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks. Starting April 21, Walker is creating plaid shirts made out of tape that will be installed in the windows of empty storefronts and merchant locations throughout the SouthSide; his intricate shirt designs have been displayed in five countries across two continents as part of this unique “Plaid Shirt Project.”

SouthSide Arts & Music Festival
APRIL 28-29
Bethlehem, PA

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