Miguel Luciano’s fritted glass murals are integrated into the new flood wall surrounding H+H/Metropolitan Hospital in the East Harlem community of El Barrio in New York City. Luciano’s colorful and bold artwork incorporates a series of photographs of youth at play and young people marching with the Young Lords in the 1960s and 70s. These photos are from the archive of Hiram Maristany (1945-2022), a renowned photographer of East Harlem life and the official photographer of the Young Lords. The artwork shares and reflects the joy, love, and active resistance that has helped shape El Barrio’s identity today and provides an iconic welcome to the neighborhood and hospital.
The Young Lords were a Puerto Rican activist group in the 1960s and 70s who called for community-wide improvements, including better access to healthcare, improved sanitation, free breakfast for children, safe reproductive care, and more. As a tribute to Maristany’s legacy, Luciano has reinterpreted Maristany’s historic photographs in a series of graphic compositions that introduce color, light, and reflective surfaces to the work, inviting the community to see itself in this history through moments of joy, compassion, resilience, and resistance.
What could have been nearly a half mile of imposing flood wall has become a place of reflection and joy for hospital visitors, East Harlem residents and passersby. Joy, Love and Resistance in El Barrio embodies the history and pride of El Barrio and brings it into our present to be experienced and enjoyed every day. This was accomplished through a true design collaboration between Luciano and the design team. The artwork is seamlessly integrated into essential components of the wall built to protect the hospital from future flooding and threats of sea level rise.
Via worked with NYC Health + Hospitals, NYC Economic Development Corporation, and a neighborhood-based artist selection committee to manage the selection of the artist to work collaboratively with the design team led by Stantec. We managed the project through design development, including facilitating reviews of Luciano’s concept with Community Boards and the NYC Public Design Commission. We continued to work closely with the artist, Stantec’s design team, H+H and City staff, and other stakeholders to shepherd the project through final design, fabrication, and installation, which occurred in late 2024. The project was funded by FEMA with a grant to The New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) and H+H/Metropolitan to mitigate future flooding with Health + Hospital Facilities in New York City.
To read more about Miguel Luciano and Hiram Maristany’s work and to see more photographs of Joy, Love, and Resistance in El Barrio read this press release from NYC Health + Hospitals.
The photographs shown in the artwork are:
Top Image: (L to R) Alita, 1963; Young Lords Cadre Member, 1970; Drummers on 111th St., c.1964; Children at Play, 1965; Hydrant: Hand, 1963; Young Lords and Community Members March to Free the Panther 21, 1969, March to Free the Panther 21, 1969, Young Man with Roses, 1971; Kids on Bikes, c.1970, Gloria, c.1970; Estate of Hiram Maristany.
Bottom Left: Young Man with Roses, 1971; Estate of Hiram Maristany.
Bottom Right: Young Lords Cadre Member, 1970; Drummers on 111th St., c.1964; Estate of Hiram Maristany.
