Taking Up Space: New Mural Celebrates Community, Strategy, and Resilience at newly renovated parkspace in Chelsea Neighborhood
Taking Up Space by Germán Acosta and Amanda Auble. Photographed by Nastassia Davis, who is also a featured subject in the mural.
Across Atlantic City, public art continues to transform neighborhood spaces into vibrant canvases of shared culture, history, and connection. At the newly revitalized Courtyard at Dover—located at the corner of Dover and Ventnor Avenues in the Chelsea neighborhood—a compelling new mural titled Taking Up Space stands as a tribute to the intellect, bravery, and community-building power of local immigrant women.
Created by the acclaimed local artist duo Germán Acosta and Amanda Auble, Taking Up Space offers an evocative narrative on human connection, belonging, and thriving in a new landscape. The mural depicts four women gathered together on the Atlantic City beach over a chess board. The figures are modeled after real-life Atlantic City community members—artists, poets, teachers, and photographers who contribute to the city's creative and cultural life. Acosta and Auble have previously explored the theme of immigration in a now retired mural Navagante, which depicted a traditional Peruvian caballitos de totora, a reed watercraft, as it voyaged across the ocean; Taking Up Space examines life after arrival and the multicultural patchwork that forms the Chelsea neighborhood and broader city fabric. The artwork explores the "strategy of survival"—the daily care, intellect, foresight, and mutual support required for immigrant women to plant deep roots, navigate new environments, and build thriving communities.
Taking Up Space detail. Photograph by Nastassia Davis, 2026.
"In our first mural, we used a boat to depict the journey to a new country," shares artist Amanda Auble. "With Taking Up Space, we ask: What is life like after arrival? Chess represents the careful planning and strategy required to thrive in a new landscape, while the act of playing in a public space honors the close-knit community found in Chelsea’s neighborhoods."
In public spaces worldwide, chess serves as a universal equalizer—a game of mind, patience, and counterplay that bridges cultural and linguistic divides. Within the mural, two of the women are deeply engrossed in a strategic match of chess on the sand, calculating their next moves. Alongside the game, two other figures share the space, honoring the quiet, supportive coordination formed within neighborhoods.
Taking Up Space detail. Photograph by Nastassia Davis, 2026.
“The Atlantic City Arts Foundation is proud to support access to public arts throughout the city and contribute artwork to this park renovation, with Taking Up Space marking the 106th mural we have administered in the city,” shared Michael Atkins, executive director of the Atlantic City Arts Foundation. “Chess is a global game and a pastime deeply linked to public spaces. Chelsea is truly an international neighborhood, with 2 out of every 5 residents born outside the United States and half of all households speaking more than one language at home. Our artists German Acosta and Amanda Auble have paid excellent tribute to the ways in which the board is leveled without the barriers of language, and how we all bring something to the table in the community in which we live.”
The installation of Taking Up Space comes as part of a larger, approximately $45,000 public space transformation led by the Chelsea Economic Development Corporation (Chelsea EDC). Renamed the Courtyard at Dover, the revitalized area features new concrete work, electrical upgrades, expanded seating, and gathering and performance areas designed to activate the Ventnor Avenue commercial corridor, foster neighborhood programming, and support local merchants.
Taking Up Space was commissioned by the Atlantic City Arts Foundation (ACAF) through a coordinated team strategy, with financial and sponsorship support from Chelsea EDC, funding through the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) A.R.T. Phase 1 initiative, and ongoing partnership support from the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA).
