Welling Court Mural Project Plays Key Role in This Year’s Open House NY Weekend

While we wait with bated breath for the 12th Annual Open House NY Weekend listings to hit the online stands, we wanted to let you know about how Astoria has an extra special place in this year’s OHNY Weekend—the Welling Court Mural Project is home to a commissioned mural by OHNY to celebrate this year’s weekend. Here’s more info:

Welling Court Mural Project and the OHNY Weekend Cover Mural
For the first time this year, OHNY is making its own mark on the built environment at the Welling Court Mural Project (WCMP) in Astoria, Queens. The first mural at the WCMP was painted in 2009; since then, it has blossomed into a neighborhood-wide initiative with more than 130 stylistically diverse murals that go on for blocks in every direction. One of the newest additions was commissioned by OHNY to celebrate this year’s Weekend. The mural will appear on the cover of the 2014 OHNY Weekend Event Guide, and artists from Ad Hoc Arts, which organizes the WCMP, will be on-site during both days of the festival to lead tours of the area and discuss their work.

As far as the weekend goes, there will be over 300 sites throughout NYC participating, including a bunch in Queens. We’ll share the listings in Astoria, LIC, and Sunnyside with you. We can tell you now that there’s going to be a walking tour in LIC called “Urban Landscapes Along the Water’s Edge in Long Island City.” It’s organized by Robin Lynn and Francis Morrone, authors of the recently published Guide to New York City Urban Landscapes. We imagine it will be awesome.

The weekend is Saturday and Sunday, October 11–12; tickets will be available starting October 1, and you will find them here. The OHNY Weekend Passport is already available for purchase.

Gregory Wessner, executive director of OHNY, says, “OHNY Weekend is a reminder of the visceral power of experience, and how the act of discovering a great building or interior can transform us. With this year’s broad selection of offerings, it is our hope that we can inform, inspire, and instill an appreciation for New York’s built and natural environment to all who participate in OHNY Weekend.”