Transcript: Mayor Adams Delivers Remarks at the Unveiling of Collaborative Portraits on Display at City Hall

April 3, 2023

Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer, Economic and Workforce Development: Okay, good morning, everyone. Thanks to everyone for joining us today. My name is Maria Torres-Springer. I'm the deputy mayor for economic and workforce development, and I'm just so thrilled to be with all of you to help launch our third art installation here at City Hall. It's a fantastic way to start the week.

Now, you might ask yourself: why do we keep doing this here at City Hall? Well, as everyone knows, art in our government buildings and civic spaces, they really help humanize these spaces, but they also help us reflect and reveal the rich diversity of our city. And they can do something that if you just take public spaces without art or museums with art, what they can't do, and that's to really capture the eye and mind, and to really help us make sure that ordinary citizens passing through can be part of a larger conversation. So the art in this building really provokes that type of conversation. It challenges, it educates and it illuminates.

Now, there are a lot of people who really helped make sure that today happened. I want to just give a shout out to Andrea Davis Shapiro, the Public Design Commission, the Department of Cultural Affairs, and also to David Johnson. Where's DJ? Also a huge inspiration for today. A round of applause, please, for our partners. And of course, I want to now introduce the person who has really pushed us to make sure not only that there continues to be art in this building, but really across all government buildings. So please join me in welcoming the mayor of New York City, Mayor Eric Adams.

Mayor Eric Adams: Thank you so much, Deputy Maria, and I think you really touched on it, and I too want to thank Roy Nachum, the artist we are portraying here today. Such a powerful display of art. And I want to also add joining David Johnson, affectionately known as DJ, who took me to one of the exhibits, and I walked through for the first time, and it really personified what my vision was: to help those with lack of vision also participate in how do we express art and how do we feel art?

Because when you think about it for a moment, when someone enters a governmental building, for the most part they are at their wits' end. They are dealing with some form of challenge, some form of complexity. They are trying to seek some type of assistance. And we in government can give them the paperwork. We can give them the counseling. We can give them the resources to deal with their physical needs. But we cannot, for the most part, deal with their emotional and spiritual needs, and that is done through art. We understand that, and this administration is going to lean into art.

So when you walk into a building to get your birth certificate, you are going to actually see physical art. When you go into file documents in the Department of Buildings, you may hear a beautiful sound, a beautiful instrument playing, or you may see an artist's rendering or some type of sculpture. We want to turn our public spaces into artistic expressions of the diversity of this city.

And I think Roy does it best, and what he's doing, when I walked through, I was really moved and touch by his desire to open the world of art not only to those who can hear it, can feel it, can see it, and can express it. And that is what you see in the display that we have in this building today. One of Roy's collaborators, Fritz, said it best: "Roy captured my essence and now he wants my soul." And that is clearly what we see in the paintings that are here displayed in City Hall.

Roy first came from Israel when he was 24 and he struggled to find a place, but by doing work for everyone, especially those who are blind or have low-vision, he found a home and so did his art. Roy's work has caught the attention of folks like Jay-Z and Rihanna, but also caught the attention of folks in NYCHA like Bobby and Bachem. Just ordinary people have enjoyed seeing and feeling the art that Roy has displayed.

And I recall walking through the gallery and the display of some of his art and just the diversity of the people in the room. I say that it is fitting for it to be here in City Hall, the place we call the People's House. And people can walk through and see it as they go about doing government business.

In addition to our rotating exhibits here at City Hall, we currently have installations at Gracie Mansion, and we are bringing art to all of our city builders across the five boroughs, not only here in Manhattan. You will see some of the most beautiful pieces, and many of our artists will have an opportunity to display the art that they have brought to the city. And so I'm really excited and I join Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer in thanking Andrea, who's leading this initiative. It's amazing how sometimes we have a vision and those who have that special vision bring it to life. And that special vision is what Andrea is doing, and those with the special vision have participated in the art that Roy has brought to us today in City Hall and throughout this entire city. So Roy, thank you so much, appreciate what you are doing, and let's continue to make this an artistic place.

Deputy Mayor Torres-Springer: Thank you, mayor. Now, this has been a huge team effort, and so I'd like to call up Deputy Commissioner Alton Murray from the Department of Cultural Affairs.

Alton Murray, Deputy Commissioner, Department of Cultural Affairs: Good morning. Good morning. I bring you greetings on behalf of Commissioner Laurie Cumbo, who is on a well-deserved holiday. This is a privilege to be here to speak on our behalf and to complement the work that we continue to do. I mean, it's important to have representation of all communities in public spaces, and it's important to have art as a catalyst for discussion.

Just to give you an illustration, as we were discussing where to place this work, Andrea and I, we were trying to conceive it, and until we met Roy and he guided us through his process, and we went from not having the vision to, through conversation, realizing how beautiful this really is. So it is an honor to be part of this, we look forward to working with the mayor's office to bring it to every community, and we are happy to be installing this today. So thank you for being here, and I will turn the stage and this podium over to Roy. Thank you.

Deputy Mayor Torres-Springer: Thank you, Alton. Now, it is my honor to introduce, and have speak to all of us, the artist responsible for this incredible work, Roy Nachum. This installation, portraits, is part of really what's been a track record of really stunning and powerful work by a New Yorker, by way of Israel. And so we claim you now, Roy.

And as the mayor mentioned, a fun fact about Roy is that he really developed the artwork for Rihanna's eighth album, and for that he was nominated for a Grammy for Best Recording Package. And so I promised him that this event would be even more joyous and celebratory than any launch event by Rihanna. But we're so thrilled to have you and we're thrilled that your wife is here, and we are thrilled that the inspiration for many of these portraits and collaborators are here as well. So we welcome them, and I welcome you to share some remarks. Thank you, Roy.

Roy Nachum: Thank you. Thank you so much for the opportunity. I want to thank everybody here and I want to thank the mayor for the opportunity. For me, it's a big deal. I'm coming from a small town in Jerusalem. I've been painting since I'm a little kid. It was always my dream. And when I came to New York, what's most incredible about New York is that it's so diverse. You're coming into a city that is everybody's welcome. And when I studied in Cooper Union, I decided to blindfold myself for a whole week to experience, how is it to be without sight? Because I used to see everything back in Israel, and then I want to be reborn and resee. So that moment led me to a moment of creating work for people who are vision-impaired and give them an opportunity first to see and experience a painting.

With those specific portraits, each portrait took me a year to complete. This is a process of five years. I started that, I would say, seven years ago, a little bit more. And I capture every little moment of the face in purpose. That's how people see people. But the portraits are people that lost their vision, unfortunately, and people born blind. So when I invited them to the studio, I felt like something was missing. And I wanted the soul, like Fritz said.

And I let them choose any color they want, any brush they want, and just paint themself or a representation of themself on top of the canvas. And for me, the moment they start painting, it was just incredible. Magic started to happen, and the work speaks for itself. I could never do it without them. This is a process and collaboration that I was dreaming to do, and I want to thank all of you guys to do it with me. I know it was a long process and you guys were very patient, but I'm humble and thankful to show it and to be a part and create my art in New York City.

The work that we did with Adam Cohen that showed the work in his gallery... And I'm working with Michael Cary now on a special project right across the street in front of the World Trade Center. It's a space that is going to be hosting a great exhibition space and I'm really humble and thankful for the opportunity. So thank you so much. I appreciate it.

Deputy Mayor Torres-Springer: Thank you, Roy and everyone, for really giving us a new way of seeing this building and seeing each other. Thank you.

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