Community Muralist Will "Kasso" Condry

 

There's a new video covering the work of one of Trenton's most prominent artists, Will Kasso. Not only is Kasso a great muralist, he's also well-versed in all things Trenton. Below is just a preview. If you want to see the full video, click here.

 

 

 

Gardening with Gandhi on East Hanover Street

On Saturday, July 13, Trenton Cities of Service teamed up with SAGE Coalition to do our monthly Second Saturday of Service event at the constantly developing Gandhi Garden. One year ago, the Gandhi Garden was like much of the rest of that section of the street, an empty lot. But since SAGE Coalition took over the property, the lot has transformed into an urban oasis of green and creativity and a nice compliment to SAGE's 219 Gallery, next-door. Since the start of 2013, SAGE has been hosting regular gatherings to help complete the concept of the Gandhi Garden, which is aptly named since there is a large portrait mural of the Mahatma, himself in the background of the lot. Our Second Saturday of Service event offered a capstone service day for this series to do some of the last large projects which still needed to be done including planting shrubs, creating a new tire garden, and moving a massive pile of dirt at the front of the property.

Volunteers for the event gathered from around the city and notably included youth from the county probation office who needed community service hours. It was good to interact with this new group and I am looking forward to working with them in the future to help provide hours for the youth under their supervision. In general, I was very satisfied with this project and I think the volunteers had a good time too.

 

 

Other videos can be found here!

Gardening with Gandhi, July 13!!

It's been far too long since this blog has been updated. I'd like to post about two things relevant to the work of Trenton Cities of Service. First and most importantly, our Second Saturday of Service in July will be held at SAGE Coalition's Gandhi Garden.

The Gandhi Garden is a mix between a garden, art gallery, venue, and public park. It is located at 223 East Hanover St, Trenton, next to the SAGE headquarters Studios 219. The space was an overgrown lot on East Hanover St. before SAGE moved in next door last year. The project has made significant leaps toward completion through various service days and ongoing work there. We are organizing a service day for SAGE Coalition to both help contribute to the project and to increase visibility of the Gandhi Garden as an asset to the wider community and downtown Trenton.

We really hope to see you there. Please share the event flyer and facebook page.

And second, our work with CARE Trenton to clean up South Clinton Avenue was documented by 2 volunteers for Art All Night. They posted a short video about our effort to clean up the street on YouTube. That event attracted volunteers from two churches, civic associations, and some regulars from CARE Trenton events. You can see the video about the project below.