Jeffrey Deitch, former dealer and ex-director of MOCA LA, has partnered with property developer Thor Equities to create "Coney Art Walls," a summertime display of street art murals on concrete slabs in Coney Island, New York. Located on a vacant lot at 1320 Bowery Street owned by Thor Equities, the project features works by over a dozen artists including Lady Pink, Daze, Lee Quiñones, Swoon, and Mister Cartoon, and shares space with Smorgasburg, a food and drink pop-up village. The article criticizes the venture as a real estate marketing ploy rather than a genuine art exhibition.
This matters because it highlights the ongoing use of art as a tool for gentrification in New York City, particularly in low-income neighborhoods like Coney Island. The article argues that "Coney Art Walls" lacks the activism and neighborhood engagement typical of street art, instead serving to sanitize and commercialize urban space for developer Joseph Sitt's larger plan to transform Coney Island into a resort. It raises broader questions about the ethical role of art and artists in urban redevelopment and the commodification of culture.