IN RESPONSE TO THE BROOKLYN SUBWAY SHOOTING, ARTIST CHARLIE HEWITT SHARES A MESSAGE OF HOPE TO NYC STRAPHANGERS WITH "HOPEFUL" BILLBOARDS

 Hopeful, a  public digital art project, was already installed at six Bronx subway locations…and then last week's tragic shootings happened in Brooklyn – today, two more Hopeful billboards are being lit at Sunset Park subway stations in honor of the victims and the community

BROOKLYN,N.Y., April 18, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Artist Charlie Hewitt, originally created an art project, "Hopeful," to inspire optimism for Americans coping with political polarization and pandemic stress.  Giant sculptures and billboards began to appear in the Northeast, first in Maine, and subsequently displayed on buildings, highways, storefronts, and subway stations in the Northeast. Recently, "Hopeful" has taken on new meaning; last month Hewitt added six digital hopeful billboards to Bronx subway stations after receiving an Instagram direct message from a Bronx resident saying that her home borough needed "Hopeful"   with the goal of spreading positivity.

And now the message is being spread again…in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, after the horrific shootings that occurred in a subway station in that neighborhood.

"After seeing the news of the shooting that took place in the Sunset Park 36^th St subway station,  I felt the need to share a small piece of hope with the community," said Hewitt. "I felt a need to spread a message of true compassion and optimism during these traumatic times."

Hewitt decided to spread his digital campaign to two busy subway stations, one at the 36^th Street Station, where the event took place, and the other at the 45^th Street station entrance. Today, the billboards, with just one word "Hopeful" – in radiant red, yellow, green, and purple colors, will be lit. Both signs will remain at the stations for the next month.

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.

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 six 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