5 Pointz, Our Playground and Identity, Dies at 12
Photo Credit: Untapped Cities
The building that once pulsed energy and rushed our adrenaline with inspiration was put to sleep last night after months of battling to live. The community mourned at the sight of the wall's livor mortis and lamented it's death over a candlelight vigil.
5 Pointz, a playground for artists and community members died yesterday in Long Island City, New York.
Since I was a teenager, I used to peep out of the subway windows and admire the vibrant walls during my commutes on the 7 train. I had this notion that it was a forbidden territory yet it's wild, mysterious energy made it very attractive.
In my senior year of high school, one of my best friends held her birthday party in one of the studios inside the graffiti building. I never admitted this until now but I was ecstatic to have an opportunity to step into the building. I remember it making me feel exclusive, alive, present and aware of how young and free-spirited I ought to be.
Six years forward, I worked at a studio a few blocks away from 5 Pointz and during my lunch breaks, I would weave in and out of the side entrances to rejuvenate and get inspired. The sound of the passing subway, the broken sunlight that beamed through the train tracks and the rhythmic gestures of the street arts intertwined like vines in the urban jungle, making it the best public performance in Queens. Now, the new condeniums will replace our music with silence, symbolizing how Queens lost it's identity and sold it's soul to conformity.
5 Pointz empowered us and represented Queens's unique characteristics. Queens is a group of distinct cultures that live in a harmonious community. Because there are so many cultures, there are various sounds, languages, scents and flavors. Though there are dozens of cultures and ethnicities, one common thread that pulls everybody together is that they share a story of how they migrated or immigrated to Queens. There is something quite charming and endearing about unity amongst urban chaos. Likewise, 5 Pointz is series of juxtaposing images and ideas that is beautiful when viewed together as a whole.
As a creative citizen who, one day, hopes to design public spaces and playgrounds in urban cities, I was extremely discouraged by this new. I recently entered a graduate program called MFA Design for Social Innovation at SVA so that I could positive impact the world we live in. When applying for this program, I had mentioned 5 Pointz in my personal essay as an example of a playground that brings artists and those who appreciate art in the community together. This devastating news made me wonder if we should have leveraged a change in mindsets sooner or which stakeholders we should have shaken.
All in all, it has been an easy day for us who live in Queens. Last night art was annihilated. But like many deaths, the end of 5 Pointz brought the people of Queens closer to each other.
We, the creative
We, the innovative
We, the individuals
We, the community
will not be defeated by this death.
But because we lost something really important to us, we will mourn.
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