Nile’s projects:

 

Virtual mural “Philly Rising, July 2020

Artist Nile Livingston recounts the origin of her virtual mural “Philly Rising,” a mosaic of photos embedded in the Philadelphia skyline. Local residents submitted the photos, which depicted their idea of the spirit of Philadelphia. Nile also is one of several women who created banners that are now hanging throughout Center City. Nile is an artist-in-residence at the Paul Robeson House & Museum.
 
Follow her on social media: @nilelivingston
 
What does “Philly Rising” mean?
 
The title of the artwork is “Philly Rising” because Philadelphia is a city of underdogs. We are resilient and tenacious. We are built on grit and mutual support. In the face of adversity, we rise to the occasion.
 
Where did the idea come from?
 
Inspiration for “Philly Rising” began while I was running essential errands during the pandemic. I’d notice that neighbors hung their children’s rainbow paintings, poems or quotes offering hope and encouragement in their front windows. As the pandemic snowballed and calls for racial justice catalyzed our community to uplift each other, more Black Lives Matter signage appeared in windows.
I felt captivated by the concerns for social relations and pondered how communities of people were naturally contributing public artworks and trying to curate different, more caring encounters. Mural Arts published a call for proposals when the pandemic first began, and I bounced ideas off them for a few weeks until we came up with this final artwork.
 
I went through several rounds of revisions and finally decided to remove all figures from the artwork and simply render the Philadelphia skyline in hopes that this would offer a neutral but widely recognizable playground. We decided to make the artwork virtual because now more than ever, when people are increasingly staying home, we are relying on the instantaneous way that information is transferred and consumed online.
 
What did you hope to accomplish?
 
The main intention with this virtual mural is to offer a platform that allows people to address some of our complexities with a certain grace that feeds our spirit and overall well-being. This mural reminds us that we fit together and that we belong here. It unites us and allows us to be a part of something larger than ourselves. It’s a platform that lets us express our differences while simultaneously expanding our capacity to imagine a brighter future.
 
Did you create the mosaic or just the skyline image?
 
A company called Picture Mosaics produced the mosaic.
 
Visit Nile’s website at: https://nilelivingston.com/

 

 

 

Meet Nile:

 

Nile Livingston has a family history rooted in art and public service. Her grandfather, Walter R. Livingston, was a well-known Philadelphia architect who was a founder and charter member of the University Swim Club, the city’s first private integrated swim club, in 1964.

“I got started from seeing my grandfather’s drafts, materials around, art supplies,” said Livingston, “and my dad also drew. My parents were really encouraging.”

Nile Livingston and her mural of the interior of the Old Mastbaum Theater.

Livingston chose public art as her form of expression, and today is an artist-in-residence at the West Philadelphia Cultural Alliance/Paul Robeson House & Museum.

She has set up shop in the administrative building, an adjacent rowhouse that was purchased along with the Robeson house by Fran Aulston and the WPCA in 1994. Livingston first used the space as a studio for commissioned paintings, and that arrangement developed into her residency.

Livingston, whose first name is pronounced “Ny-elle,” is one of three artists-in-residence at the house. The others are singer Gordon Brown and African drummer Zumbi Soweto.

Livingston grew up and lives in West Philadelphia. She has worked the polls in the neighborhood at election time, and she and her family are members of the Walnut Hill Community Association. Her grandmother volunteered with United Way.

She got involved with the Robeson house after attending meetings here of the August Wilson and Beyond class, a joint partnership between WPCA and the University of Pennsylvania that examines the works of this famous African American writer.

Vernoca L. Michael, executive consultant for the house, got to know her from those sessions.

“I found out she was interested in working in the arts,” said Michael. “We have had, over time, persons who were designated as artists-in-residence, so I talked to her about being a potential artist-in-residence. In the meantime, she was able to get this particular project (and) she came and asked if she could use the space here.”

Livingston was hired to create four huge canvas murals – 7 feet by 7 feet – for a co-working space at 20th and Market Streets in Philadelphia. The works were commissioned by Convene Philadelphia, whose building was erected on the former site of the Mastbaum Theater.

Nile Livingston fills in the intricate details on the Mastbaum Theater mural at the WPCA/Paul Robeson House & Museum. Photo by Sherry L. Howard

The other murals depict Grace Baptist Church, from which Temple University was founded and whose building now serves as a multipurpose facility for concerts, theater and lectures; Polett Walk on Temple’s campus, and an interior view of the Academy of Music. Temple is renting two floors in the building.

Her mural for Convene were created to be hung in each hallway of the building. Each has a predominant color of gold, red, blue and green so visitors will know exactly where they are in the building.

When she got started with the Mastbaum mural, Livingston said, she could find no photographs of the stage view that she wanted. So, she stitched together several images.

“The people I’m working with are designers and they wanted to see something beautiful and theatrical,” she said. “They came up with the subject matter, but they gave me creative freedom with the style.”

And what is her style? Unfinished, the murals looked like specks of black paint with dabs of color but no form. The finished products, however, are very distinguishable.

“I don’t know what to call it exactly,” said Livingston. “I use Sharpie paint markers for the original drawings and each separate color you see is actually a separate piece of paper, a separate drawing I did. I scanned each drawing on the computer and then overlaid them in Photoshop and adjusted the colors.

“Maybe you can call it abstract.”

She has also completed a mural of the singer Grace Jones, which is on display at the Mission Taqueria restaurant throughout the spring. Her mural “Philly Jawn” can be seen in Terminal E at Philadelphia International Airport. A series of posters based on photographs of Philadelphia scenes overlaid with uplifting messages are on display for six months in the Terminal F Baggage Claim area. The latter were created in conjunction with LEADERSHIP Philadelphia and Mural Arts Philadelphia “with the goal of inspiring more passion,” she said.

Nile Livingston’s “Philly Jawn” mural at Philadelphia International Airport.

Livingston says she doesn’t remember when she first started drawing, but an early journal pointed to one occasion.

“I was looking through an old journal,” she said. “I went to Powel (Elementary School) in preschool and our assignment was to draw what you think God look like or something like that. I remember looking through my journal and there were drawings from school assignments.”

Her drawing of God was “someone with big curly hair.”

She attended the Philadelphia High School for Creative and Performing Arts, and went on to Kutztown University, where he studied sculpture and metal fabrication and received a BA degree in studio art in 2010. “I had a clear idea of what I wanted to focus on in life. So, I think all my life I was an artist.”

A year later, Livingston worked with students through the Cecil B. Moore Recreation Center in North Philadelphia to create a mural as part of the Mural Arts Program. She and a friend solicited businesses to donate supplies.

The mural was painted on a wall at 22nd and Lehigh Avenue but the building was knocked down.

“Students helped me design a mural, and through that I continued onto the path of public arts as well as graphics design.”

Livingston wants to be active with the Paul Robeson House in the same way. “I definitely want to move into more community-based art, find out what the needs are of the neighborhood and involve them in the art-making process,” she said.

Nile Livingston with the Grace Jones mural.