A RETIRED BRONX SCHOOL TEACHER, AN ARTIST, AND AN INSTAGRAM DIRECT MESSAGE BRING A MESSAGE OF HOPE TO THE BRONX

Hopeful, a public digital art installation by renowned artist Charlie Hewitt, can now be found in subway station billboards in The Bronx, spreading a message of hope to the local community

NEW YORK, March 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- As a public art project designed to inspire optimism for Americans coping with political polarization and pandemic stress, renowned artist Charlie Hewitt began installing a variety of artworks displaying the word "Hopeful" in different locations across the United States. 

Hewitt began the Hopeful Project as public art sculptures in his home state of Maine and has since expanded along the east coast, with locations in Greenwich, Connecticut; New York City; Jersey City, Newark and six other New Jersey locations, Easton, Maryland and twenty-two private art collections. Hopeful now spans from sculptural creations, paintings, bumper stickers, lapel pins to digital billboards.

The digital campaign has now reached The Bronx through a chance encounter with a retired schoolteacher, Lisa Watkins, who stumbled upon the project on Instagram and sent a direct message to Hewitt, asking for Hopeful to find a home in The Bronx as well. Hopeful is now heralded in digital form on six billboards located at Bronx subway stations.

"Lisa's words touched me. She is my angel in The Bronx and her message is exactly why I began this project. After connecting with Lisa, I knew I had to bring Hopeful to The Bronx," said Hewitt.

Hopeful signs are now located in the following subway station entrances:

• Bedford Park Boulevard - B, D - Digital Urban Panel (Grand Concourse 44 N/O Bedford Park Boulevard E/S)
• Kingsbridge Road-B, D - Digital Urban Panel (Grand Concourse 25 N/O Kingsbridge Road E/S)
• Tremont Avenue-B, D - Digital Urban Panel (Grand Concourse 20 S/O 179 Street W/S)
• 170 Street – B, D - Digital Urban Panel (171 Street 38 N/O Grand Concourse E/S)
• 161^ST St-Yankee Stadium – B, D - Digital Urban Panel (River Avenue 54 S/O 161 Street W/S)
• 161st St-Yankee Stadium-B, D - Digital Urban Panel (161 Street-Walton Avenue)

Hewitt and his gallery owner Jim Kempner are privately funding The Bronx Hopeful signs. The largest signs in radiant colors range from 20-to-60 feet in size, weigh up to 600 pounds, and are installed in states across the country and are in more than twenty-two private art collections.

If you are interested in bringing The Hopeful Project to your community, publicly or privately, please reach out to Charlie Hewitt Studio for more information. Hewitt is represented by Jim Kempner Fine Art in New York City. Instagram: @_hopefulproject.

Charlie Hewitt
Charlie Hewitt, b.1946, is an American painter, printmaker, and public artist. His works are part of the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Whitney Museum, New York Public Library, and Library of Congress. He has also been featured in numerous solo and group exhibitions and is the only artist to have a permanent public sculpture, "Urban Rattle," on the High Line in New York City.

The Hopeful Project 
Artist Charlie Hewitt began The Hopeful Project, 2019-present, with a single lighted aluminum sculpture commissioned by Speedwell Projects for the roof of their headquarters in Portland, Maine. To date, the Hopeful message has spread with installations across seven states at dozens of different sites, both public and private. Follow along on Instagram at @_hopefulproject and with the hashtag #sharehopeful.

Jim Kempner Fine Art
Jim Kempner Fine Art specializes in contemporary paintings, sculpture, photography, and works on paper, with a special emphasis on contemporary master prints and outdoor sculpture. Art inventory appeals to the established as well as beginning collector. The gallery works closely with art advisors, designers, corporations and museums to expand and enrich their varied collections.

OUTFRONT Media
OUTFRONT leverages the power of technology, location and creativity to connect brands with consumers outside of their homes through one of the largest and most diverse sets of billboard, transit, and mobile assets in North America. Through its ON Smart Media platform, OUTFRONT is implementing digital technology that will fundamentally change the ways advertisers engage audiences on-the-go. OUTFRONT owns 512,000 billboards across the United States and has 14,000 locations in Canada.

SOURCE Hopeful