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Watch Them Paint: Bergen Artists Gear Up For Public Project In Hackensack

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- Eight local artists have been chosen to help beautify Hackensack. 

From left to right: Artists Ken Ziobro, Tai Hwa Goh, Monica Chavarria, Johnathan Houssou, Laurence Ciarallo and Marcus Story. Not shown: John Newcomb and Poramit Thantapalit

From left to right: Artists Ken Ziobro, Tai Hwa Goh, Monica Chavarria, Johnathan Houssou, Laurence Ciarallo and Marcus Story. Not shown: John Newcomb and Poramit Thantapalit

Photo Credit: Submitted

Monica Chavarria of Teaneck, Lawrence Ciarallo from Hoboken, Tai Hwa Goh of Fort Lee, Jonathan Houssou and Marcus Story from Englewood, John Newcomb of Bergenfield, Poramit Thantapalit from Hackensack, and Kenneth Ziobro of Hasbrouck Heights will paint murals with anti-littering messages on eight utility boxes on Main Street and beyond. 

The N.J. residents were selected by the Northern New Jersey Community Foundation's (NNJCF) ArtsBergen initiative for Creative Hackensack's "Utility ARTBox Project." 

The artists have worked on a range of murals or public art projects. Ciarallo, for example, has extensive experience creating murals in South Orange, Jersey City, and Newark, including the Model Neighborhood Initiative. 

Goh, an artist-in-residence at the Museum of Arts and Design's Artist Studios Program in Manhattan, worked on BRIC House and the Dumbo Art Festival in Brooklyn. 

Thantapalit's portfolio includes creating public art for Boonton Arts' Dog Days of Summer and developing a mural wall for an NYC restaurant. 

Ziobro, who undertakes over 12 annual shows in front of an audience, also creates caricatures and pet portraits.

Previously, Newcomb, a tattoo artist at Lola’s Tattoos in Bogota, and Chavarria participated on the artist's team that painted the 250-foot Main Gateway Mural at 76 Main Street in Hackensack. Chavarria has also created murals near Paterson Great Falls National Historic Park and in a school's library in Fort Lee. 

Houssou, who is also a musician, and Story were contributing artists to Creative Hackensack’s two CAT Walk Art Exhibitions in 2016. 

The community is invited to watch the artists paint the murals on Saturdays, June 24 and July 8 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

For more information, contact NNJCF's ArtsBergen at artsbergen@nnjcf.org or 201-568-5608. For further information about the Main Street Business Alliance, visit www.uppermain.org. Follow Creative Hackensack and the Hackensack Creative Arts Team on Facebook for updates about events and activities at www.facebook.com/CreativeHackensack/.

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