Northside Art Factory launches project to beautify Virgin Way
By Sean P. Ray | Managing Editor
HISTORIC DEUTSCHTOWN — Virgin Way has a new, colorful look thanks to a collaborative art project aiming to beautify various spots on the Northside.
A collection of artists came together to create murals along the alleyway in October, with their work kicking off on Oct. 5. The mural project, known as the Virgin Way Revitalization, was organized by Northside Art Factory, with funding by the Buhl Foundation.
The goal of these murals is to reduce crime in the area of Virgin Way. The alley has a sordid reputation on the Northside, with residents reporting finding used syringes or even people using drugs along the backstreet.
“Basically the idea is that we want to transform the feeling of the alley,” said Ashley Hodder, who was the lead artist on the project.
Hodder said murals can help make an area feel safe and make people more comfortable with using the alley.
“It shows that somebody cares about the area,” she said. Matthew Hartford, executive director of Northside Art Factory, said the mural work done in October was “an appetizer” for wider beautification efforts. He hopes for the completion of all Virgin Way artwork by next spring, and then to start looking at other areas in the Northside to improve.
The artists working on Virgin Way are both local and from afar. Hodder, for example, is from Pittsburgh, while another artist who created a mural — Roberto Seminario, who also goes by Sef — was born in Peru and currently lives in Los Angeles.
Hartford thanked the artists for their efforts, noting that many of them made the murals for less than they would normally charge for such work.
“These guys were really generous with their time and they did it at a discount,” he said.
The artists received help from the neighborhood. A group of community volunteers helped clean up the alley ahead of the artists beginning work.
The Virgin Way Revitalization is part of a wider Northside beautification process which kicked off in January. See our coverage from the February 2024 issue for more information.
