"This is a city that punches way above its weight when it comes to art and culture," said Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin as he officially unveiled the mural touted as the largest in New England.
Standing 18 stories and 170 feet tall on the south side of downtown Hartford's Millennium apartment building, Reawakening Wonder is the creation of local artist Michael Rice. It depicts Sam Gonzalez, 10, of East Hartford peering into a mason jar with fireflies.
"A sense of hope, a sense of wonderment," says Rice of what he hopes his work brings across. "Maybe like a sense of feeling enchanted again, kind of something that I think a lot of us are yearning for these days."
Choosing spray paint as his preferred medium, Rice says he used about 600 cans to produce the work. Painting started on May 3 and took roughly seven weeks, with Rice and his team suspended over the city on a swing stage, commonly used in window-washing.
"I really enjoyed that part," says crew member Chris Gann of Enfield on dealing with heights while at work. "I like rollercoasters, I've been able to skydive a few times."
The group RiseUP for Arts gets behind public art projects and, in 2021, contacted the Millennium's new owner, Shelbourne Global Solutions, about the space overlooking I-84 and I-91 in Hartford.
"I immediately reached out to them and said, 'This wall needs a mural!'" according to RiseUP's executive director, Matt Conway. "It's one of the best canvasses in the entire state... They were incredible partners, and we started the process then."
