For my mural, I knew I wanted to engage the community of Coney Island. I decided to do a mural of portraits featuring residents of Coney Island - people who have lived in the neighborhood for years and have family roots there.

I asked each person I interviewed and photographed, what do you want people to know about Coney Island outside of the boardwalk and rides?

David Anderson gave a great answer that I used for the text of the piece: "The day before Easter, and the day after Labor Day - people still live here. People die here. People love here."

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About Tatyana Fazlalizadeh

Tatyana Fazlalizadeh, a native of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, currently lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. Tatyana Fazlalizadeh's work moves effortlessly between the street and the gallery. Whether using printers and wheat paste or oil paint on canvas, Fazlalizadeh adds her imagery to a national and international dialogue about conflict in public spaces, such as police violence against black people, the Arab Spring uprisings, or sexual violence against women. Fazlalizadeh's work has been covered by the New York Times, NPR, MSNBC. Her work has been exhibited in galleries and museums in New York, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Oakland, and Detroit. Her street art series, Stop Telling Women to Smile, has garnered attention around the world for bringing light to street harassment and women's rights via visual art. She is currently an artist in residence at the Made in New York Media Center by IFP and was recently named one of Forbes’ 30 under 30 for 2015.