Artist Nicole Salgar Plans Large Nola Mural for Mental Health Awareness

Those interested in working with artists Nicole Salgar should email laurajeanhyde@me.com or call at 703-869-4538!

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Almost overnight New Orleans has become a hotspot for colorful and talented murals. Last year we highlighted how the city dropped the overall costs of the mural permits to below $100. This drastic change has led to the vitalization of ugly buildings both commercially and residentially throughout the city. 

There are currently over 140 public murals throughout the city. Along with the public murals, residents and creatives have flourished in the private market. These murals can be found indoors and out, in heavily trafficked and out-of-the-way locations.

Most of them are promoting businesses, protesting issues, honoring past heroes, or helping shine the light on all sorts of social awareness initiatives. 

As more and more continue to pop up, the real question becomes….do you have an available space to create something special? One artist sure hopes you do.

Miami Artist Nicole Salgar is headed to New Orleans and is in need of a space to help bring awareness to mental health issues plaguing our country. 

“Lauren “Izzy” Irizarry was one of the most generous and kind people you could have in your life. New Orleans was Laurens’s favorite city, and we hope to honor her with this mural project. She felt connected to the celebration of the light and dark dance of life that town offers, the culture, food, and of course the music. Lauren LOVED music, She lived for live music and never missed an opportunity to go to a show. She gave the best hugs. She craved human interaction and I believe this year, like so many, took a toll on her.  She was warm, funny, and all Rock n Roll soul. She took her life in July in a dark moment. She’ll be loved and missed by all who knew her.  Life will go on, but it will never be the same without her.“

The message for this NOLA mural will continue to focus on mental health awareness. Over $25,000 (a testament to the person she was to her friends) was raised to create murals in Brooklyn as well as one in NOLA, Lauren’s favorite city next to NY.

Salgar is planning to take two weeks to get this project finished. The money has been raised for this project, so no funds are needed from the potential resident interested in helping out. With over 20,000 followers on Instagram tunning in to see what new designs she creates, Salgar has filled their airspace with colorful pieces in this same style and size. 

“We have had the pleasure of working directly with Fortune 500 companies, homeowners, small business owners, public art programs, non-profit organizations, and all shades in-between. Our goal is to create work that not only enhances your brand’s image but gives you a quality piece that will increase your brand’s longer visibility in an authentic way.” – Nicole Salgar

Dive in below to see some of her recent work, including a video that shows her before to after process. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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For the past two weeks, I had the opportunity to paint for the kids at @comstockschool through the @esquinadeabuela beautification project. Painting this mural has been a form of therapy for me during these trying times. I wanted to be a part of this project because I believe it’s important to empower the youth through creativity, and to show them positive outlets for their own self expression. Most of my recent work is heavily inspired by the theory of alternate universes or alternate realities. Theories say that versions of our universe overlap, and even interact with one another on the quantum level, affecting our own universe. In this piece I used color separation to give that effect. Being that the arch is at her center, it could be a representation or a gateway to the self. Her hands are holding flowers which could either be interpreted as a gesture, either to herself, or to you, the viewer. I am beyond grateful to @eugnell for inspiring me with his beautiful work and allowing me to use his photo of My wonderful friend @juuriart83 as a reference for this piece. Swipe to see the before picture of this wall and to see the reference image that was used. She sits 18ft x 32ft and you can see me at the bottom left for scale. This Mural was powered by @smogarmor which is an eco- friendly ,non- toxic, air purifying paint. They have a wonderful team & product that I will continue to use on projects. ❤️ grateful #doitforthekids 🌿 #ecofriendly#purifyingtheair #empowertheyouth

A post shared by nmsalgar (@nmsalgar) on Jun 12, 2020 at 1:04pm PDT

 

 

 

 

 

 

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As I gear up for some Exciting Basel projects I’m bringing it back to one side of the mural I painted out in Wabash, Indiana for @wabashwalls. “The woman in this mural is intended to be portrayed as a gate keeper to other dimensions or realities. Her existence is one which flows through time without any boundaries. The very concept of time is ultimately an illusion, created by humans to reconcile with our memories. Time is represented in this piece through the changing fields of color and atmosphere. The red section represents the moon, which is as important to the concept of time and reality as the sun. The moon is the only thing which rotates around the earth, and by doing so, manipulates the water which make up the majority of our planet. Within the moon shape, it is an atmosphere of clouds, mysteries, dreams and secrets. The time piece which she is holding is our most human tool for understanding time. It is the ingenuity of engineering mimicking nature’s cycle. I painted the spiral shell at the center to symbolize the slow reveal of things that are hidden. This can mean growth and evolution, but more importantly it speaks to the idea of no beginnings or endings, just absolute continuity. So ultimately, this mural is a culmination of the maternal & feminine spirit of all things, being tied together through reality, dreams, space and time. A boundless energy which makes up the entire universe. Muse @krystal.t.rodriguez @gypsy_gaal11

A post shared by nmsalgar (@nmsalgar) on Nov 21, 2019 at 4:40am PST

Nicole has put out some notes about what your location of the mural should have. You can read them below. Those interested in working with Nicole Salgar should email laurajeanhyde@me.com or call at 703-869-4538!

IDEAL MURAL WALL OPTIONS:

• Exterior wall with good visibility to the general public
• 10x10ft or bigger
• Smooth Surface wall (brick is ok) no textured stucco, unfortunately, it’s too difficult for portraits
• Preferably no windows or doors throughout the wall
• Easy Access to the wall (no light poles, the area looks safe to operate on), level ground, no telephone poles.