Wilmington’s Cultural Street Art Program Opens with Art Installation at Peter Spencer Plaza

The content of this post comes from a City of Wilmington press release...

The City of Wilmington, which supports Black lives and the ongoing effort to promote racial justice reforms locally and nationally, today (Monday, August 24, 2020) opened a community designed and executed cultural street art program. Organized by community activist and artist Vanity Constance and managed by City Cultural Affairs Director Tina Betz, the first of a series of cultural street art installations is underway beginning this morning at the King Street entrance to Peter Spencer Plaza.

“This new art program is a community expression that comes from people’s feelings about the current state of racial justice and racial relations,” said Mayor Mike Purzycki. “This effort has the wholehearted endorsement of City government because it is also about supporting better things to come for all of us who live in, work in, and visit Wilmington. Council President Hanifa Shabazz and I, respectively representing the Executive and Legislative Branches of government, embrace the colors, images, themes, and individual artistic efforts of this program and thank Vanity and all of the participating artists for helping us appreciate art while we learn and heal.”

Monday’s opening cultural street art installation was organized by the Local Street Art Group, a non-profit founded by Vanity Constance. The lead designer and artist facilitator on Monday’s project is local artist JaQuanne Leroy who created the image to be painted entitled “Freedom and Justice.” The work, pictured at the beginning of this news release, features African tribal patterns and symbols. It is expected that this initial artwork will be completed by Tuesday.

The section of sidewalk that is being decorated crosses the western entrance to Spencer Plaza, named for Peter Spencer (1782-1843), who founded the Mother AUMP Church (African Union First Colored Methodist Protestant Church) on the site of the plaza in 1813. The church was the first independent Black denomination in the country. The plaza was also the site of the first Big Quarterly (or August Quarterly), which was started by Spencer in 1814. The plaza statue, "Father and Son," was erected in 1973 and depicts a Black male figure cradling a sleeping child in his arms. Larger-than-life and dressed in a t-shirt and jeans, the man is not a direct representation of the religious leader but rather a symbol of the hope for the future that he inspired. The remains of Peter Spencer, his wife Annes, and ten of his followers are interred in a vault beneath the statue. After Spencer’s death in 1843, there was a split in the church. The African Union Methodist Episcopal Church (AUMP) and the Union American Methodist Episcopal (UAME) both trace their history to the original church at 819 French Street.

Vanity Constance and Tina Betz said the first art installation site that was originally selected — crosswalks at 4th and Market Streets — could not proceed because of a series of technical problems such as needing to prep the asphalt for a few days before paint could be applied. Instead, it was decided that the Spencer Plaza sidewalk artwork would be an appropriate way to start the program.

Betz and Constance said other art installation sites will be announced soon, which will include a new mural in Freedom Plaza, the courtyard and public meeting space in between the Louis L. Redding City/County Government Building and the Elbert C. Carvel State Government Building on French Street. The mural will replace a sky and cloud patterned mural that graces a side wall of the Redding Building and serves as the backdrop for a stage that is used for music performances and other community-related events.

On August 13, a community-led ceremony was held in Spencer Plaza to unveil the permanent home of the Pan African RGB Flag. The date of the flag-raising — August 13 — is significant because it marked the 100th anniversary of the signing in 1920 of the Declaration of the Rights of the Negro People of the World by the United Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) chaired by Marcus Garvey. This document is one of the earliest and most comprehensive human rights declarations in U. S. history.

Light Action to Build World Class Music, TV & Film Facility on 7th Street Peninsula

Content of this post comes from a City of Wilmington press release...

Out and About broke the story this morning about the facility and all it can mean for Wilmington

Wilmington Mayor Mike Purzycki today congratulated and thanked Scott Humphrey, President of Light Action Productions based in New Castle, for his decision to build a new multi-million dollar sound stage on Wilmington’s 7th Street Peninsula. The Mayor said he had encouraged Humphrey to move forward with his unique idea for some time and is very pleased that this project is finally moving forward. The Mayor and Humphrey said a groundbreaking will be held within the next month.

Rendering of Light Action Productions' future sound stage,
The Pine Box. Photo courtesy of Light Action.

Light Action will build 150,000-square-foot facility on 10 acres of land 
along the 7th Street Peninsula. Photo courtesy of Light Action. 

In an exclusive interview with Out & About, Humphrey said his company is building a 150,000-square-foot facility on 10 acres of land along the 7th Street Peninsula. The $8 million project will feature a 25,000-square-foot, 95-foot-tall sound stage called the Pine Box, which Humphrey says will be lit up and visible from Interstate 495.

“This sound stage will be for crews and companies that are either doing pre-production on a Broadway musical, or for a touring band that’s about to go out on the road, or for film or TV crews,” said Humphrey. “We’ve looked at moving to the city for a while, and I think this space will bring a sort of organic energy and lots of opportunity to the area.”

Mayor Purzycki said the City of Wilmington has been eager to facilitate the sale of the 20 acres of land that Humphrey’s company purchased on the peninsula. The Mayor said the location and availability of the 7th Street Peninsula property, while somewhat neglected, makes perfect sense for Light Action.

“There aren’t that many places in the city where you can find a piece of property that large, especially for a company of Scott’s size, with the need for external parking, all his big rigs, storage, and equipment,” says Purzycki. “We wanted to do everything we could to make the site attractive, but there was no particular assistance from us other than the commitment that we will improve road access at the site.”

The Out & About article quotes Humphrey as saying that once the facility is built, Light Action Productions’ warehouse – which will be filled with live entertainment production elements – will occupy 90,000 square feet, along with 30,000 square feet of space designated to design, video and lighting studios and conference rooms. Another 5,000 square feet will be reserved for office space, and the final 25,000 square feet for the Pine Box.

Humphrey says he’s already spoken to industrial and manufacturing neighbors in the 7th Street vicinity about future plans for the area such as a restaurant, bar or possible hotel accommodations, although no plans have been confirmed. Humphrey said a grand opening celebration is tentatively scheduled for late 2019.