Artists Make New York: Nani Chacon

“The first time I came out here my brain couldn’t comprehend how linear everything was, because I was so used to this far-stretching, organic landscape. The other thing that I remember immediately feeling when coming to New York was just that the city had a soul.” — Nani Chacon

What surprised you when you arrived in New York City? Or, if you’ve never left, what continues to stop you in your tracks?

Artists have been drawing inspiration from, and drawing on, the city from the start. For Nani Chacon, graffiti and mural making have been strategies to claim a place in the landscape.

Along with fellow artists Tatyana Fazlalizadeh and Layqa Nuna Yawar, Nani helped create the collaborative and participatory mural on the exterior of PS1’s Courtyard, After the Fire. The three muralists worked with community members from Make the Road, Transform America and the Shinnecock Matinecocks Nations to conceive of the project.