FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – February 1, 2023
Atlantic City, N.J. – In honor of Black History Month, the Atlantic City Arts Foundation is working to bring Valeria Marcus' proposed Jacob Lawrence mural to life. Lawrence, hailed as a master storyteller, was born on September 7, 1917, in Atlantic City's Ward 3, where the Save-A-Lot now stands. Marcus, artist and Atlantic City resident, has also been working with the city to install a historical marker at Lawrence’s birth site.
In 2017, the City of Atlantic City passed Resolution 54 in recognition of Jacob Lawrence and his contribution to the art world. Honoring his legacy is meaningful to the Black community—Marcus shared “Jacob Lawrence was a genius and the first American artist to paint history. He grew up experiencing the struggles of racism and oppression among his people. And through his art, he was able to depict the daily struggles of African Americans.”
Lawrence created a body of work that comprehensively spoke about the African American experience. His esteemed 60-panel series, ‘Migration of the Negro,’ using tempera paints in an abstract storytelling style, depicted the millions of African Americans that migrated to the north from the Jim Crow era south for a better life. Atlantic City artist Kelley Prevard incorporated Lawrence’s motifs in her mural “Memory”, located at Atlantic Cape Community College’s Worthington Campus.
Fundraising for the mural project will continue throughout the month of February, alongside social content highlighting local Black artists and art in Atlantic City that represents Black history. The organization is aiming to raise $20,000 for the project, ensuring muralists and other contributors are paid equitably. The mural, if funded, will be included in the 2023 48 Blocks AC Mural Week in June, with artists selected through a juried application process.
Visit acartsfoundation.org/JLMural to contribute to the fundraiser. You may also contribute offline, checks payable to “Atlantic City Arts Foundation” may be mailed to PO Box 3, Atlantic City, NJ 08404.
For further information about Jacob Lawrence, visit jacobandgwenlawrence.org.