Artist Spotlight: Autumn VP
If you've visited the park side of Maple Street Community Garden, you've undoubtedly noticed the colorful mural covering our water tower. The artist behind it is Autumn VP, community muralist, illustrator, and Arts Committee volunteer.
Hailing originally from Georgia, Autumn moved to NYC 12 years ago and settled in PLG in April 2026. Shortly after arriving, she reached out to the Arts Committee with an interest in helping beautify the garden. The timing was perfect and Zhenia N., co-coordinator, knew the perfect place: the cream-colored water tower nearby the garden's water fountain!
Autumn quickly dreamed up Everyone Belongs Here, a whimsical celebration of the garden's plants, animals, and the people who love and tend to this community green space. Birds water gardens, squirrels harvest flowers, a blue jay carries a compost bin, and a warbler arrives with cookies for everyone. Inspired by children's books and the natural world around us, the mural invites visitors to slow down, look closely, and discover something unexpected.
But the magic wasn't just in the design. Over three painting days in August, neighbors, volunteers, children, and curious passersby all had a chance to add their own marks to the mural. The result is truly a community-created piece of art.
On the back of the tower, you'll also find our Wall of Inspiration, filled with words and phrases contributed by members of our community. The mural also honors the land and the many people whose lives and labor have shaped this place, including the Lenape, generations of enslaved, free, and immigrant workers, and the three families who called 237 Maple Street home: the Rices, the Lindbergs, and the Kirtons.
For Autumn, creativity is deeply connected to collaboration and joy. A graphic designer and illustrator by trade, she brings her background in science communication into her art while also embracing the simple pleasure of delighting people with playful details.
"I love to collaborate," Autumn says. "I find the creative energy from those around me helps me be more creative myself." Whether through baking, art-making, or simply trying to "shove as much joy" into what she does, Autumn is clearly committed to making the world a little more joyful.
And if she could be any creature in the garden? 🐇 A cottontail rabbit.
They're often hidden from view, nibbling on whatever is in season. "They're very sensitive, but also very scrappy," she says—a combination Autumn clearly admires.
We're so happy Autumn found her way to Maple Street Community Garden—and that she helped us transform an eyesore into something that reminds us all: Everyone Belongs Here.
To see the mural up close and person, watch this video reel created by Zhenia N.
🐇 Spotlight by Zhenia N.; 📸 by Nancy T.
If you’d like to join the Arts Committee, whether you are an artist, musician, poet, muralist, art teacher or you’re a creative person interested in helping with arts events, fill out this google form. You can also email Arts.MSCG@gmail.com.