The Owl’s Head to host mural creation dedicated to Black Lives Matter

The Owl’s Head, 479 74th St., is creating a 15-foot-long mural dedicated to Black Lives Matter and is welcoming locals to help complete it.

The mural is being created following several protests and rallies, three of them in the Bay Ridge area, after the death of George Floyd, who was killed by a Minneapolis police officer last month.

The event, to be held on Saturday, June 20 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m., will have Brooklyn artists Jen Maloney and Isabelle Garbani create the mural with the participation of locals and supporters.

Those who partake can also write the names of police violence victims.

John Avelluto, owner of The Owl’s Head, is also an artist and has murals painted on the establishment each year. Its current mural is a collaboration between NYC’s Molly Crabapple and Saudi Arabian street artist Ms Saffaa.

“The idea for the mural came about last week,” said Avelluto. “I wanted to open a platform to the community and I received a strong response of support. The work is a collective voice of those in the community that feel that this is necessary. Bay Ridge has a vibrant art scene and Jennifer and Isabelle have volunteered their time and experience as educators and artists in a similar way, as a means to help enact this collective action. The action of the community speaks for itself.”

Avelluto, a south Brooklyn native, has been a supporter of racial and LGBTQ equality and addresses his own ethnic identity in his art. He recently sold several of his own works to benefit the George Floyd Memorial Fund and Black Lives Matter NYC.

After the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando in 2016, Avelluto raised money for Equality Florida.

During Saturday’s event, masks, sanitizer and bottles of water will be available for participants. Social distance will also be practiced as people can take turns when working on the mural. It has been categorized as a family-friendly event.