Street art group ‘tags’ the Bronx

Street art group ‘tags’ the Bronx
Community News Group / Jaime Williams

One group of artists have made it their mission to beautify Bronx streets.

TAG Public Arts Project, founded by local artist J. “SinXero” Beltran, brings artists together to treat the borough’s buildings as their canvases as a way to affect change in neighborhoods.

“We encourage graffiti artists, street artists, and fine artists to work together, while enhancing the visual landscape of urban communities with art,” said Beltran.

The group works with business owners who want the murals on their walls, often in spots that are plagued with graffit tagging. The murals become a positive, uplifting thing for the community, said Beltran.

“If you put something beautiful up, people feel proud of what’s in the neighborhood,” he said. “They want to keep it going.”

The organization brings artists, some local and others international, together to create the multiple murals at the locations, said Beltran. So far, he said the group has facilitated about 35 pieces of public art, covering 100,000 square feet of wall space.

TAG Public Arts Project, started by Beltran along with artists James “Sexer” Rodriguez and Luis “Zimad” Lamboy, is still working on gaining its non-profit status, but Beltran has grand visions for the group.

He’d like the organization’s projects and mission to spread outside the Bronx to other boroughs, and then to other cities.

Within the Bronx, Beltran hopes to develop an indoor space for the group with aerosol ventilation, so they can start street-art youth programs and give kids opportunities to explore their creativity.

“Idle hands are the devil’s playground,” said Beltran about the need for youth art programs.

Beltran said the group also has an interest in combating negative stereotypes about the Bronx. One of the ways its doing that is by developing the Bronx Street Art Tour with MCNY Tours, which brings tourists from Manhattan to see the groups murals, along with Bronx landmarks. The company hosted the first street art tour on Sunday, September 21.

TAG Public Arts Project’s three artists are also part of an art exhibit, with two other collaborators, called “Bronx Quintessential” at the Andrew Freedman Home from October 24 through November 8.

To see some of their outdoor artwork, look for TAG Public Arts Project’s murals at 2100 Glebe Avenue, 2303 Westchester Avenue, or 1401 Ferris Place.

To learn more, visit tagpu‌blica‌rtspr‌oject.org, and to contact Beltran, email tagpu‌blica‌rtspr‌oject‌@gmai‌l.com.

Reach Reporter Jaime Williams at (718) 742–3383. E-mail her at jwill‌iams@‌cnglo‌cal.com.