Montclair Artist Working on Jersey City Mural Arts Project

Catherine Hart, an accomplished multimedia artist and muralist who grew up in Montclair and now lives in Penland, NC, is back in town for two weeks to work on The Jersey City Mural Arts Project.

The comprehensive mural project coordinated by Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, has commissioned dozens of murals citywide as part of the administration’s focus on the city’s art community to beautify neighborhoods and promote cultural awareness.

After graduating from Montclair High School, Hart attended Washington University in St. Louis. She was interested in the glassblowing department, however, the department closed down soon after she started school. Hart explored other options, like pursuing a degree in education and psychology, but after two years she says she “knew the arts were still calling.” She applied to California College of the Arts, transferred, and received a BFA from CCA in 2004. “Attending that school reinvigorated my love for all the mediums I enjoyed growing up and knew I was back on the right path,” says Hart.

Her involvement in murals came later  in 2011.

“I had been painting and drawing in a small scale for many years and was receiving a lot of feedback that my style lended itself to a much larger scale. In 2010 I had the opportunity to paint on a large wall in a studio where I was a resident. That experience changed my life as I fell I love with painting on a scale larger than my body itself. It was an entirely different experience and I immediately wanted to learn all that I could about creating murals. It was then I started researching and found a call for a mural apprentice for a large community project in Waco, Texas. I applied and was accepted and after my experience in Waco, I have been creating murals ever since.”

When Hart found out Jersey City had a call out for mural artists, she contacted Brooke Hanson, Assistant to Mayor Fulop and in charge of the mural arts project. 

“I was originally applying to do my own artwork on a wall but when they found out I had experience with kids and community based murals, they asked if I could do this project and I accepted right away!” she explains. 

Hart is working on the two-week long project with 10 high school students who were selected to take part in five mural projects throughout the summer.

“These are all students that are artists and interested in the arts or having careers in the arts. What’s excited about my two weeks with these wonderful kids versus what they did with the other projects is that my student are actively designing this mural themselves. In the previous projects, they helped paint something that was already designed. Our mural will be their vision and their voice, discussing what they are interested in.”

“We have quite a task before is to both design and paint a mural so quickly, but these students are motivated and excited so I know we will come up with something great!” says Hart enthusiastically.

The mural will be located on Garfield Avenue and Grand Street in Ward F on a wall of a basketball court.

“We are trying to honor the diversity of the city as well as some of the history of what used to be in that area,” she says and promises to send photos of the mural once its completed.