The City of White Plains is about to see a lot of changes once the now-closed Galleria comes down – and a local artist is helping to highlight the beauty of change with a mural.
It’s a story that comes full circle. Katie Reidy, an artist from Ossining, once rented space at the Galleria.
"It was a gallery space in the front. It was an educational facility in the back, and it also had some retail," she recalls.
She's devoted her life to art, and that's where she spent many hours teaching her passions. But her Galleria story doesn't end there. The management group wanted her to be part of the change, and she spent about 40 hours creating a mural that is the visual representation of the change the city is about to see.
"Motion and fluidity and strong structures to represent strength and power but also movement so that it feels like its constantly moving and grooving and changing,” she explained. “There’s a bunch of hearts to represent love."
The colors also have a special significance.
"The fire and ice concept – the idea of bringing hot and cold together, two opposing feelings together and that being beautiful," she adds.
She says she worked hard to highlight movement, fluidity, growth, and change – and residents say she succeeded.
"It's really gorgeous, that caught my eye, its beautiful," said White Plains resident Joseph Danyo. "Positive change is coming to White Plains and the area."
The mural will be up until construction begins.