ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Allentown-area officials and art lovers celebrated local art Thursday as they unveiled a new mural downtown.
Jason Zulli, a professor at Northampton Area Community College, won a contest sponsored by People First and Allentown Mural Arts.
- A local artist unveiled his mural Thursday in downtown Allentown
- Jason Zulli won a mural contest sponsored by People First and Allentown Mural Arts
- The artist said he hopes it helps "bring [the] community together"
He unveiled his top-prize design Thursday outside the credit union along the Allentown Arts Walk.
Zulli’s mural features five people looking toward North 6th Street.
“We've lost kind of our connection with everybody. We don't talk to everybody, we kind of do our own things, and I think it's time to try to bring [the] community together.”Artist Jason Zulli
He said he knew he wanted his mural to be driven by “a diverse group” of faces from the beginning of his process.
But he went through more than 100 designs before finalizing the one that now adorns one glass wall of People First.
Different interpretations
Zulli said he was inspired by how the coronavirus pandemic forced people to disconnect from each other.
“We've lost kind of our connection with everybody,” he said. “We don't talk to everybody, we kind of do our own things, and I think it's time to try to bring [the] community together.”
He said he’s not trying to impart any specific message with his mural, he just hopes it helps people re-engage with each other.
“That’s what I like to hear. I like to hear they got something out of it that was not necessarily my interpretation.”Artist Jason Zulli
The process of making visual art is very similar to music, he said. In both mediums, artists create pieces for themselves, but others “have a totally different interpretation of it,” he said.
“That’s what I like to hear,” he said. “I like to hear they got something out of it that was not necessarily my interpretation.”
Most of Zulli’s portfolio is animations and moving artwork projected onto buildings, so it’s nothing new to see his work on People First. He jokingly said the medium is “soul-crushing” because it can only displayed for a short time.
“I'll spend a month and a half on artwork, and then … after 20 minutes, it's over,” he said.
He said he entered the mural contest because he had to “do something different.”
“For the first time, this is something that doesn't go away,” he said.
The mural is set to come down in about a year, after a new contest winner is crowned. It could be displayed elsewhere in the city, Zulli said.
