In the spring of 2012, Brooklyn native Joseph Ficalora brought together a small group of street artists to paint some murals at the intersection of Troutman Street and St. Nicholas Avenue. Having grown up in Bushwick, and still running his family business near this intersection, Ficalora decided that it was time to infuse the drab, industrial blocks that dominate the area with a sense of color and life. Now, in little over a year, Ficalora’s Bushwick Collective boasts over 70 murals and continues to spread further and further throughout the neighborhood. It has become a destination for artists who are looking for legal walls, where they can take the time to flesh out their more elaborate visions, as well as for art loving tourists. Mexico, Australia, Argentina, Russia, Singapore, France, England, and South Africa are just a sampling of the countries that painters have traveled from to paint for the Bushwick Collective. And if the seemingly unstoppable Ficalora has his way about it, this is just the beginning of the many good things yet to come.
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