Pittsburgh Riverfronts

“Black Flowers” is a mural by artist Camerin “Camo” Nesbit along the Allegheny riverfront under the Fort Duquesne Bridge as part of Camo’s artist residency with Riverlife at the site.

During June 2020, a Black Lives Matter mural was created in this space by a group of Pittsburgh muralists in response to the killing of George Floyd. While current artist resident Camo was not involved in the creation of that mural, he formed a group of Black artists to implement a re-imagining of it several days later with the support of the original artists.

Riverlife and the Office of Public Art established an artist residency with Camo to implement a new mural inspired by his community engagement on the site over the past year and an evolution of the Black Lives Matter message. According to Camo, Black Flowers showcases “vibrant, colorful portraits of local Black faces of excellence, greatness and inspiration, with additional elements from the natural world.”

Portraits include:

Liberty Kinsel – daughter of D.S. Kinsel, artist, art educator and co-founder of nonprofit BOOM Concepts
Billy Porter – Broadway, TV and film actor
Dejuan Blair – basketball player, most recently for the Austin Spurs
WIZ Khalifa – performing artist
Kilolo Luckett – art historian, curator, and author
Mary Cardwell Dawson – opera singer, choir director and classical musical teacher (1894-1962)
Nisha Blackwell – Founder and CEO of Knotzland Bowties
Camerin “Camo” Nesbit – artist self-portrait
Alma Speedfox – Executive Director of the NAACP (1966-1971)
Nate The Barber – Pittsburgh-based DJ
Tamere Robinson – football player at Brashear HS
Dr. Ayisha Morgan Lee – Founder, CEO, and Artistic Director of Hill Dance Academy Theatre (HDAT)

RELATED: Mural Painting to Begin Under Fort Duquesne Bridge

Photo Gallery

Photos courtesy of Emmai Alaquiva.