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Atlantic City Press Release


For Immediate Release: April 22, 2014

ATLANTIC CITY ALLIANCE - Boardwalk Hall's West Hall Mural Unveiled in Atlantic City

Contact:
Melanie Sole
(609) 348-7806
msole@atlanticcityalliance.net


Click-To-Tweet: Façade at Atlantic City's West Hall @Boardwalkhall gets digital facelift with massive, digitally created mural installation | http://twitpic.com/elqmae


Atlantic City's Florida and Pacific avenues have been given a digital facelift! The Atlantic City Alliance (ACA) and the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA) unveiled a massive, digitally created mural installation on the façade of Historic Boardwalk Hall's West Hall during a Tuesday, April 22, ceremony at 11am in the pocket park on Florida and Pacific avenues in Atlantic City's Tourism District.

The new mural, called "Journey," includes 27 panels in total that wrap around West Hall along Florida and Pacific avenues. Each panel is approximately 25-feet wide by 35-feet tall. The combined length is about 700 feet. The entire project is a combination of hand rendered and digitally composed sketches.

The mural has a Mother Nature theme, connecting land and sea from Pacific Avenue and Boardwalk Hall to the free Atlantic City beach and Atlantic Ocean. The main goal of "Journey" is to transform Boardwalk Hall's West Hall with a mural that celebrates the beauty of the city's natural environment under the themes of "Sunrise" and "Sunset."

Renowned artist Mitsu Overstreet created the West Hall mural in conjunction with the ACA, CRDA and Fung Collaboratives. Overstreet and Lance Fung, of Fung Collaboratives, spoke at the ceremony. The mural installations are part of a joint Atlantic City Boardwalk improvement project by the Atlantic City Alliance and the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority in conjunction with the city's overall beautification project.

Executive Director of the CRDA, John Palmieri said the CRDA plans to allocate $500,000 toward a three-tier citywide mural program in partnership with Atlantic County to enhance Atlantic City's Tourism District, neighborhoods and storefronts as part of the city's overall beautification initiative.

"The greening of the Florida and Pacific Avenue street corner, and the living wall along Pacific Avenue were successful in softening the landscape and making the pedestrian experience more enjoyable," said John Palmieri. "The addition of the murals creates a much more inviting environment, drawing people toward the Boardwalk and extending a visually exciting experience for vehicles and pedestrians alike."

"This mural is part of the larger initiative to beautify Atlantic City by removing blight and enhancing public spaces through art," said President of the Atlantic City Alliance, Liza Cartmell. "This building shares two spectacular displays, one visible during the day-this mural-and one at night, the 3D sound and light shows on Boardwalk Hall. It also celebrates the underappreciated inland waterways of Atlantic City which team with wildlife and are as physically beautiful as the world famous beaches, ocean and Boardwalk."

"Visually, the project's main goal is to transform the site with a mural that celebrates the beauty of the city's natural environment under the themes of 'Sunrise' and 'Sunset,'" said artist Mitsu Overstreet. "For the community that lives, works and experiences the installation, my hope is that a new sense of place and a connection is created in them that sees through to the environmental aspect of what makes Atlantic City such an amazing region."

In connection with Earth Day, the CRDA and Atlantic City's citywide mural initiatives, as well as the city's overall beautification project, the press conference and ceremony will speak to the land and sea connection of the West Hall mural as well as the tremendous natural assets that Atlantic City has to offer, including its free beach and oceanfront Boardwalk.

"Atlantic City's foundation rests on a natural barrier island, which are known for a dynamic exchange between the ocean and land," said Overstreet. "It has quite a balance and is a very unique location. When drawing inspiration from the region's natural environment I saw that this exchange is part of what this place is about. It's really beautiful."

The Earth Day press conference and unveiling ceremony included appearances by:
· CRDA Executive Director John Palmieri
· Atlantic City Alliance President Liza Cartmell
· Mural artist Mitsu Overstreet
· Lance Fung, of Fung Collaboratives

* [High-res photography and aerial video of "Journey" are available here. Please credit Tom Briglia/ACA.]

About the Artist: Mitsu Overstreet
Mitsumasa Overstreet is a Japanese-American contemporary visual artist and designer primarily known for his public art installations. Mitsu's journey through his art has lead him to focus on public works as one of his most important expressions. In every public project he takes on it brings a challenge of joining the process of creating as a consciously self-searching artist with an empathic collaboration with the real people and environments surrounding the work. This results in unique place-making and meaningful environments that captures and highlights the individual experience as key to creating art that strengthens a cohesive identity in the community it reflects. Overstreet graduated from the California College of the Arts in Oakland/San Francisco, California. For a list of projects Overstreet has created and more information on the artist, visit www.mitsuoverstreet.com.

About the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA)
The only agency of its kind nationwide- the CRDA has used Atlantic City casino reinvestments as a catalyst for meaningful, positive improvement in the lives of New Jersey residents statewide, investing nearly $2 billion in more than 400 projects statewide. Under the 2011Tourism District legislation, CRDA responsibilities have expanded to include Land Use Regulation, Clean and Safe initiatives, attracting and retaining conventions and meetings at the Atlantic City Convention Center and Boardwalk Hall and partnership with the Atlantic City Alliance to market and attract visitors to Atlantic City. For more information on the CRDA, visit www.njcrda.com.

About Atlantic City
From sandals to stilettos and foie gras to funnel cakes, Atlantic City offers something for everyone. Enjoy world-class entertainment, dining, shopping, gaming, relaxing on the beach and strolling the historic Boardwalk in the city created to escape the city. For more information visit www.doatlanticcity.com or:


The Atlantic City Alliance was established in 2011 as a private, not-for-profit corporation whose primary mission is to develop and implement a full-scale, broad-based, multi-year marketing program for Atlantic City.