NOOR UL AIN
Mural Painting
Bachelor of Architecture ‘21 at The City College of New York.
Inspiration
What inspired you to pursue mural painting?
Our city. My inspiration has always been the vibrancy of our streets, the people we encounter everyday, all the connections that happen almost immediately that are so unique to New York. That’s actually how I got into it, I was doing an apprenticeship with the New Museum in the Lower East Side and we were partnering with an organization called Groundswell for a mural project a few blocks down. I met some of my favorite people through this At the mural dedication ceremony, I met Patrick Dougher, the Executive Director of Groundswell, and also hands-down one of the coolest people to ever walk this planet. I always carry a sketchbook on me and Patrick asked to peak into it - he saw some potential in me and invited me to join them in future projects and the rest is just a beautiful history.
Preliminary Drawing Stage for Ellis Island Murals - Courtesy of Noor Ul Ain
In Front of Mural Work - Courtesy of Noor Ul Ain
Time Management
How did you manage to maintain your time?
I like to think when you are passionate you manage to make time for all you love, but unfortunately this is not always the case. While I dreamed about becoming a muralist when I was younger, I wanted to test out whether the impact our murals had could be translated to buildings and other public spaces on an urban scale - so I decided to dedicate myself to architecture. Now almost all the painting I do is on the subway - I still always carry my sketchbook with me and my little watercolor palette. I am hoping to get back into it soon though and have a collective of friends that want to use art for social change - so there’s some stuff brewing.
Ideas
What inspired your artwork?
The biggest influence is definitely all the different voices we incorporate, our murals were not one-person operations, we had teams of a dozen or so people who each brought their own unique perspective and visual imagery into the process as well as teaching artists who serves as amazing mentors.
“Respect is the Strongest Compliment” 2015. The Images Speak for Themselves - Courtesy of Noor Ul Ain
Team progress picture: Brooklyn, NY. Summer, 2015. “Respect is the Strongest Compliment - Courtesy of Noor Ul Ain
Resources
Mm, you need a surface! You will most likely need scaffolding, ladders, safety precautions should be taken. Primer to get the wall ready for your beautiful work, and of course the work! Murals usually take planning, you work for some time in a studio doing several drafts of what the finished image will be, and then when you are ready to paint your wall, your method will vary but using a chalk line to lay out the overall mural project was probably my favorite part of the process! I don’t know what it is about chalk lines, they are my favorite tool on both construction sites and mural painting sites. One overlap, I guess!
Want to be Active?
Groundswell!! I cannot recommend this organization enough - the impact this organization has had in transforming the lives of youth and artists all over this city is TREMENDOUS, and I would highly suggest getting involved with them or supporting them if you are interested in public art and social change. I would also recommend Public Assistants if you are interested in supporting Black Lives Matter via art and protest, they’re a collective of creatives that are cooking up some amazing things!
Sepia-toned historical panels and Contemporary fragmented identities - Courtesy of Noor Ul Ain
