Bridgeport Graffiti Artist Debuts City Canvases Projection with Arcade Mall Reunion

Aug. 27, 2012 - PRLog -- City Canvases Bridgeport continues with its night light projection project on Thursday August 30th with lifelong Bridgeport artist and resident, ES Barraza's "Indigenous to Industry" with a special tribute projection to those who forged the path as natives, to settlers, the industrial era that built Bridgeport and it's post industrial decline and back again from the ashes through the arts.

Barraza began his art career in 1988 at the age of 12 where he perfected his skills by painting graffiti on abandoned buildings in Bridgeport. At 16 this young entrepreneur began selling his art work by painting commissioned murals and air brushing t shirts in the Arcade Mall and Peacock Alley. A graduate of the Connecticut Institute of Art and former owner of Endangered Styles Tattoos in the Arcade Mall in downtown Bridgeport, CT he continues to hone his skills as an artist as he travels through the Eastern Seaboard, Canada, South America and beyond tattooing at conventions and competing in graffiti demonstrations and shows. As well traveled as ES is his true roots are firmly planted in Bridgeport as he has taught several graffiti courses at the University of Bridgeport and been a mentor at the Boys and Girls Club to name a few.

Along with the City Canvases Projection kicking off at 9 pm at the 49 Cannon Street location there will be an Arcade Mall reunion to be held at 1001 Main Street as a tribute to the former businesses and those who got their start in that location. A DJ Battle, BBoy competition and graffiti demonstration on Peacock Alley will begin at 6 pm. A 10 pm after party will be moving over to Bare Tapas & Vino located at 269 Fairfield Avenue to conclude the homage to Downtown Bridgeport.

City Canvases Bridgeport is a twelve-week, large-scale, video projection program that will highlight week-long, digital shorts by twelve Connecticut artists/filmmakers. Based on the theme of Change, the short videos will be looped and projected on key buildings in Downtown Bridgeport throughout the summer. The videos may be live-action, animated, or abstract films. This public art program will feature artists from throughout Connecticut, including Dustin DeMilio as well as Holly Danger, ES Barraza, Kelly Bigelow Becerra, Shawn Corvino and Peter Konsterlie, Adger Cowans, Mary Jo Lombardo, Lauri MacLean and Lisa Seidenberg, Joe Malfettone, Lori Petchers and Faith Baum, Ernst Weber, and Yves Wilson. City Canvases is a creative placemaking initiative to further the growth and vitality of Bridgeport’s arts and cultural sectors and the City’s creative economy. Bridgeport is one of four cities in Connecticut to receive a pilot-program Creative Placemaking grant and one of seven cities in Connecticut to be awarded a City Canvases grant by the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development, Office of the Arts. Partners in the program are the City of Bridgeport, the Downtown Special Services District (DSSD), the Bridgeport Arts + Cultural Council (BACC), and the Cultural Alliance of Fairfield County (CAFC).


. Creator of many Urban Art shows from here to Florida. Resident artist at 305 Knowlton St Galleries in Bpt and currently travels throughout the US doing tattoos and art.