“Sakia, Sakia, Sakia, Sakia” is a mural I completed earlier this week in Newark,

“Sakia, Sakia, Sakia, Sakia” is a mural I completed earlier this week in Newark, NJ. ‪#‎SakiaGunn‬ was a teenage girl who was stabbed by a man after her and her friends refused him on the street. She was 15, black, a girl, and gay. This month marks the dates of her death (May 11) and birth (May 26). It felt really appropriate and important to paint her portrait. However, I was nervous because I had trouble getting in touch with her family to get permission before starting the mural. But a few days into it, through social media, we found each other and there was nothing but love. This mural is a part of a mural of project called ‪#‎GatewaystoNewark‬ to spans over a mile on McCarter Hwy and features dozens of amazing artists. Because the murals are off of a highway, we had to work over night for only a week. 9PM - 4AM everyday. I’m not from Newark. I didn’t know Sakia personally. But she was a young black queer girl and deserves to be seen and her story heard. While painting, many people drove by a yelled out her name. A few people got out of there cars to tell me they knew her. This is the stuff that public art is good for.‪#‎sayhername‬ -- source link

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