Photos by Stacy Harrison
MANCHESTER, NH – Artist Jyl Dittbenner is standing in an alley between Lake Avenue and Spruce Street looking at her latest work, a mural on the back of the newly opened Fresh Start Farms Food Hub. The mural depicts a farmers market with women in colorful African dresses selling vegetables.
“I think everyone needs some art,” she says. Three teenage boys on bicycles agree. They ride by and express their approval.
The mural is one of half a dozen works commissioned by the Neighborworks Center City neighborhood group. Erica Brooks of Neighborworks reached out to Dittbenner based on the work she had done on a mural on the Rex Theater.
Most of the local mural artists in the city like to work collaboratively, so while Dittbenner is the one who designed the mural, it was a group effort. Other local artists Tammie Morris, Deb Curtin, and Ellen Duffy also contributed, and at one point the next-door neighbor came by with some rollers and extension poles and helped them prime the wall.
Like many classical European fresco artists, Dittbenner included portraits of key people, Erica Brooks makes an appearance, as does Fresh Start Farms manager Jameson Small. She points to the likeness of a girl in a red-white- and-blue dress. “She came by with her mother while we were painting. Her mother was teasing her that a little girl in the picture was her. The little girl didn’t believe it was, so we told her we would make sure to put her in. I don’t know if she has been back to see it though.”
That kind of community engagement is exactly what Erica Brooks was hoping for with this mural project. “ I grew up in an urban environment. Coming from Brooklyn I have seen the power of street art,” she says
The project has enabled her to connect with artists and provide them with an outlet for their talent. Anthony Williams and his Friends of Art Manchester group completed some of the first murals in 2019. A casual conversation with someone led Brooks to high school student Mbambi Mbungu, who designed and painted a mural on the Dollar Deluxe building.
Art has also helped with establishing good relationships with neighborhood business owners. They are happy to participate because it helps discourage graffiti and builds a sense of community.
Brooks hopes to have many more murals added to the neighborhood. She had planned to host a block party fundraiser in June to promote the impact of street art. However, it had to be cancelled because of COVID-19. She looks forward to engaging with more artists and businesses as soon as she is able.
Back in the alley, a van pulls up and Dittbenner’s fellow mural artist Tammie Morris joins us. Both women have fine arts degrees. Morris received her degrees from the Maryland Institute College of Art and Notre Dame College and Dittbenner graduated from St. Anselm College.
Dittbenner left a job as an art teacher and took a job in manufacturing in order to spend more time making her own art. Morris is known by many because of her important role in youth soccer, but she has also designed and painted several murals around the city, most notably the flower mural behind Pappy’s Pizza.
Whatever else they do, both women are always looking for their next potential project. “We’re always on the lookout for walls. Give it to us and we’ll paint it. We’ll make it beautiful,” says Morris.
They don’t limit themselves to walls. Dittbenner has painted two of the electrical boxes downtown. They hope that their next project will be painting the jersey barriers that will be used on Elm Street to provide space for restaurants to enable social distancing. Aldermen will vote on the plan on July 7.
