This is the guerrilla team behind the colorful murals covering boarded windows in downtown Wilmington – The News Journal

After protests turned into riots Saturday night, downtown businesses are left salvaging through the destruction. Delaware News Journal

The morning after riots broke out in Wilmington following the killing of George Floyd in Minnesota, friends and business partners Jonathan Whitney and Eliza Jarvis came up with an idea as city business owners began the process of cleaning up.

Theywanted to connect young artists with businesses boardingup their windows.

"How can we respond? How can we empoweryoung artists in this moment, not so much as to heal, but to continue this energy into ways that change begins to happen?," Whitney says.

If we can get a few donors and some store owners willing to turn their storefront into a work of art, the duothought, we can transform those blank wooden monuments from painful reminders into powerful messages of justice, love and inclusion.

New Castle artist Jannah Williams, 24, works on a mixed-media piece at Nomad Bar in downtown Wilmington. A new art project is raising money for artists to paint over the boarded up windows left in the aftermath of the spring city riot, which damaged several business following the killing of George Floyd in Minnesota.(Photo: Joe del Tufo/Moonloop Photography)

That morning, they were on the ground on Market Street with fellow project co-founder Arden photographer Joe del Tufoasking business owners what they thought, even though the dazed ownershad only started to absorb what had just happened.

So far, a total of four artists of color have been commissioned for the project.

Spaceboy Clothing on Market Street was the first to give the OK, just a week after clean-up began. The piece was completed not too long after onJune 14 by Wilmington artist James Wyatt.

Next came Blitzen, the Christmas pop-up bar, which had two murals, recently removed for their opening. Those works were by Wilmington artistsErica Jones andJaQuanne LeRoy.

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The most recent piece, an eye-catching mixed-media work,wascompleted recently at the jazz club NomadBar on Orange Street by 24-year-old artist Jannah Williams, who goes by J the Artist.

At Nomad, Williams worked for several days, creatinga stunning mixed-media piece that usesnewspaper clips andold racist fliers as a base; on top are paintings of the faces of people who matterin this moment.

Erica Jones paints a tribute to 19-year-old Oluwatoyin "Toyin" Salau, a 19-year-old Black Lives Matter activist killed in Florida earlier this year.(Photo: Courtesy of Joe del Tufo/Moonloop Photography)

They include civil rights leaderMartin Luther King, Jr.; the first Black woman elected to theU.S.Congress, Shirley Chisholm;and former President Barack Obama.Ahmaud Arbery, who was shot to death while jogging in Georgia earlier this year,and Breonna Taylor, who killed by police in Kentucky in her home,also are included.

Taylor, wearing a wide smile, is in the center of the biggest project of William's young career. Taylor was two years older than Williams when she was shot six times in a botched policeraid earlier this year.

The piece's titleis scrawledacrossthe top in black letters dripping with red: "All We Want Is A Better World Than This." A message of "Black Lives Matter"and "You Matter" also are included.

"I wanted to show the history of what we're fighting fortoday goes back years and years and years,"says Williams, who studied art at Delaware State University. "And we're still fighting for it in different ways, but history is repeating itself as well."

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It took about 40 hours to complete, stretched across two weeks and was completed last week.

New Castle artist Jannah Williams , 24, works on a mixed media piece at Nomad Bar in downtown Wilmington. A new art project is raising money for artists to paint over the boarded up windows left in the aftermath of the spring city riot, which damaged several business following the killing of George Floyd in Minnesota.(Photo: Courtesy of Joe del Tufo/Moonloop Photography)

Just like atthe other sites, passersby would stop and watch the artists work, getting a rare look at the process over severaldays. Some even asked artists about their work and whatit means.

"Those are important conversations," says Whitney, who co-foundedFlux Creative Consultingwith Jarvis earlier this year. "When I was at Blitzen andsaw little girls walking by that bigger-than-life painting, [it]is powerful.

"Yes, the panels are a blight. Yes, we wish they weren't there. But let's use them to push a message that we should keep moving forward because there are some great things happening."

Artist JaQuanne LeRoy works on a mural at Blitzen in downtown Wilmington earlier this fall.(Photo: Courtesy of Joe del Tufo/Moonloop Photography)

The project is so scrappy and homegrown that it doesn't even have a name, getting offthe ground withhelp of initial donors: Whitney's brother Benjamin andhis mentor at DuPont, F. Renarde Hill.

"The focus has been on finding ways to make it happen, not a name," says Whitney, also artist-in-residence at downtown'sEpiscopal Church of Saints Andrew and Matthew.

The artists behind the first three works at Spaceboy and Blitzen each received $500. Williams got $650 when more donors stepped up,including Wilmington non-profit Cityfest, whichsolicits sponsorship and grants to help, in part, fundarts programming.

Whitney isstill searching for donors to keep the project going. Donations can be made at Cityfest.com. Make note that it is for the storefront muralproject.

"We wanted top amplify the voices of these artists. A lot of times, finding the canvass and the funds are what keeps them from that and we wanted to take away that barrier," Whitney says. "We wanted to say, 'Go, speak!' "

When the project is complete, organizers hope it will find a home in a museum or another artistic space in or around the city.

Jonathan Whitney (left), Eliza Jarvis (right) and photographer Joe del Tufo are behind a downtown Wilmington art project transforming boarded up windows into pieces of art.(Photo: Joe del Tufo/Moonloop Photography)

But before that,Buccini/Pollin Group will partner with organizersto create a sidewalk art gallery.

It will be located atThe Residences at Midtown Park retail storefronts on NinthStreetbetween Shipley and Orange streets, Buccini/PollinVice Presidentof Design and Marketing Sarah Lamb revealed to Delawareonline/The News Journal.

The muralswill be lit and displayed inside so the public can visit the gallery safely from the outside. A completion date has not yet been announced.

Artist James Wyatt works on a mural at Spaceboy Clothing in downtown Wilmington earlier this fall.(Photo: Courtesy of Joe del Tufo/Moonloop Photography)

We recognize that June of 2020 will go down in history as an important time of civil discourse in our city, and the nation as a whole, she says. "The artwork that emerged after the nationwide protests plays an important role in this narrative, and we at BPG want to ensure that the murals, as well as the celebration of the artists themselves, can continue to engage our community.

For Whitney, theNomad Bar exhibit is especially meaningful.

As a jazz drummer, he has spent many nights with his back against the other side of that boarded up window, playing with his band,The Whitney Project.

He releases his debut album, "Life's Dimensions," on Monday with an in-person album release concert at Wilmington'sChristina Cultural Arts Center on Friday at 7 p.m. It will also be livestreamed as part of the city's Clifford Brown Year-Roundseries.

He couldn't help but think of the old days as Williams painted.

"That's the gathering spot for jazz musicians. And that special place is part of this conversation," he says. "And if Nomad was open, I'd be playing there and doing what she does, just in a different medium."

Got a tip? Contact Ryan Cormier of The News Journal at rcormier@delawareonline.com or (302) 324-2863. Follow him on Facebook (@ryancormier), Twitter (@ryancormier) and Instagram (@ryancormier).

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This is the guerrilla team behind the colorful murals covering boarded windows in downtown Wilmington - The News Journal