On The Sewage Plant? Where Else?

ASBURY PARK — We love only in Asbury Park moments.

And a great one is the painting of public art on a most interesting city build-ing:
Our sewage treatment plant!

You got to love it. Last year, nine artists painted colorful murals on this most essential of facilities. Over 50 artists answered the request for proposals. The murals face south, and they are striking.
Only in Asbury Park!

This year, the city’s Public Arts Commission will coordinate the painting of more murals on the sewage plant, this time on four panels facing east toward the ocean. The Request for Proposals is expected to be made available this month. Like last year, artists will be paid $1,000 for their work. The tentative timeline is to get the murals painted in May.
“The sewage plant murals really opened the public’s eyes to the possible,” said Public Arts Commission member Mike Sodano.
“The historic wastewater treatment facility is one of a few municipally-owned buildings available for City-sponsored projects and its highly visible location on the beachfront makes it ideal for a public art installation,” he said.

Another Public Arts Commission member, Jenn Hampton of Parlor Gallery on Cookman Avenue, enjoyed seeing the interaction of people with the murals — this is on a sewage plant, remember.

Of particular joy was watching brides get photos there.

“I love seeing brides taking a picture in front of the murals at the sewage plant, and they don’t care what’s going on behind there,” said Hampton. “I really like this story of the sewage plant.”

Members of the Asbury Park Public Arts Commission are Michele Alonso, Matt Daniels, Mary Eileen Fouratt, Jenn Hampton, Shana LaBranche, Mal-colm Navias, Amy Quinn, Marilyn Schlossbach, Angie Sugrim, Michael Soda-no and Charles Trott.

But Jenn Hampton is the commission members most involved in public art in-stallations. Aside from serving on the city’s Public Arts Commission — which approves all murals on buildings in Asbury Park — she’s also on the board of the independent non-profit Asbury Park Arts Council. The Council works in conjunction with the city and other stakeholders to promote arts and culture in Asbury Park. Our other Asbury story this week’s chronicles its role in imple-menting an Arts and Culture plan in Asbury Park.

Hampton is also responsible for curating the murals of the hugely popular Wooden Walls project on the boardwalk, produced in conjunction with board-walk redeveloper Madison Marquette. Madison authorized her, and funded, the installation by One site was at the Sunset Avenue pavilion north of Convention Hall and the other was in the Casino site and on the steam plant next door. The project also featured public art installations in the Casino walkway. People were constantly photographing the murals and installations, whether the art itself, or as back-ground for selfies or just photos of people in front of them.
The murals were likely the most Instagrammed sites in Asbury Park, sent out to the rest of the world via social media — and bringing even more attention to our city as an arts leader.

“I am always trying to find projects to fill our City with art and probably driving the City crazy with all my big ideas,” Hampton said. artists of murals on undeveloped pavilions and buildings on both ends of the boardwalk.