August 2026 – Download PDF

NYACK, NY, October 7, 2026: Hudson Valley Mural Arts, in partnership with acclaimed artist Brian Hart, will begin work this month on the first officially approved mural in Nyack. Rails to Roots, located at The Parker 40 South Franklin Street, marks an important milestone for public art.

A New Chapter for Public Art in Nyack The Village’s Public Art Advisory Committee was established to review public art proposals and support creative projects that enhance the community. Rails to Roots is the first project to move through the Committee’s review process and receive approval from the Village Board of Trustees. For Hudson Valley Mural Arts, the project represents an opportunity to demonstrate how public art can serve as both a creative practice and an educational tool, connecting professional artists with emerging student artists while engaging the broader community.

Rails to Root honors the transformation of a storied site across the street from the mural, from an industrial hub to a thriving community space. For nearly a century, these grounds bustled with the rhythmic energy of the Erie Railroad. Locomotives turned on the turntable, freight moved through the station, and the roundhouse echoed with the work of bringing goods and people to Nyack. That era, which lasted until 1965, helped shape the identity of the village. Today, that same soil feeds a different kind of growth. The Nyack Community Garden has transformed the historic space into a place where neighbors cultivate vegetables, flowers, and connection. Where rail once connected distant places, community bonds now flourish.

The mural weaves these narratives together, honoring the industrial past that defined this corner of Nyack while celebrating the vibrant present. It is a visual testament to renewal: how a place built for movement and commerce can become a sanctuary for growth and gathering. The garden’s roots run deeper than soil. They are anchored in generations of purpose that came before, now reimagined for the community it serves today.

The artwork depicts an abstracted steam train emerging from the side of the building against a vibrant floral background. Painted on the north-facing wall of The Parker frame shop, the mural will transform an underused surface into a striking piece of public art that honors local history while bringing vibrancy and beauty to the streetscape and neighborhood. “Rails to Roots is about transformation, of place, of history, and of how we understand the spaces we move through every day.

I’m excited to create a work that connects Nyack’s industrial past with its creative present and to make something that feels deeply rooted in this community.” Brian Hart, Artist “Creating a mural arts organization that supports creatives in developing public art alongside student artists in my own neighborhood has been a dream fulfilled. I’m honored to help usher more art into public spaces throughout Nyack and the Hudson Valley. This collaboration with Brian Hart is an exciting first step in building a model for public art that brings artists, young people, local history,