ACAF program manager Zach
Katzen coordinated with local art-
ist Charles Barbin to create a new
mural this month at Kay-Vil Con-
struction, located at 342 N. New
Jersey Avenue in Atlantic City. Us-
ing leftover paint the organization
had on hand from previous mural
projects, Charles created “PER-
SONAL SPACE”, the third mural on
Kay-Vil’s building.
“PERSONAL SPACE was moti-
vated & inspired by the desire to
want to stay together, to congre-
gate with our neighbors and our
community, as a flock. We’ve re-
cently been exposed to a world
where we’ve been denied the
choice to act socially in a group,”
Barbin shares.
The mural features a soft yellow
background and a colorful, tex-
tured cityscape. Barbin used an as-
sortment of stencils and stamps to
create texture and layers of color
on the buildings. Wires cross the
piece, full of birds quietly perched,
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appearing to be waiting.
“We’ve had to consider Spacing,
recently termed distancing, be-
ing separate. Spaces instinctively
functioning as motivations for at-
traction are now possible risks
and thought of as repulsive. Birds
often sit with each other on Wires
waiting for an event as simple as
a sunset to happen. Our crucial
event is happening, now together
we wait for it to set and start a new
day,” explains Barbin.
ACAF hopes to create additional
murals in the coming months,
working with our local artist com-
munity. “Like our fellow non-prof-
its, Covid-19 has impacted our
funding. We are doing everything
we can to secure funds so we may
continue to create art in our city,
serve our community, and invest
directly in artists,” shares Joyce
Hagen, ACAF’s executive director.
“This is a challenging time for our
city and we know that creativity,
art, and inspiration are more im-
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