Eden Soares: Creating a Cape Verdean gateway to the North End of New Bedford

Not to put any pressure on him, but Eden N. Soares has one mighty task ahead of him.

When that’s suggested to him, he enthusiastically replies that he’s ready for it.

Maybe that’s because he’s been doodling and drawing since he was 11-years-old and then, for the last 33 years, has been a graphic designer of industry with a graffiti sensibility.

In between, he’s tackled outdoor murals of note — but nothing of the size and complexity he’s getting ready to create for the side of the Cape Verdean Cultural Center, the former Strand Theater, on Acushnet Avenue in New Bedford’s North End.

He’s probably not overly anxious about his looming star turn, creating an iconic mural celebrating a culture that reaches deep into city history, because he has a plan.

The mural will be big — 50 feet wide by 16 feet high — but will be painted onto a series of eight-foot by four-foot panels, then fastened onto the side of the building. He estimates that it will take about a month to do the actual painting this summer.

The completed mural may not be actually up until next fall, or whenever renovation of the theater is completed.

WHALE is handling the build-out, and in a bit of a beta test of their future Artist Referral Program, SUPERFLAT connected Soares to the project managers, WHALE and the Cape Verdean Association.

Soares is a member of the SUPERFLAT team. His picture starts the parade of portraits of city artists just mounted on the fence across from Custom House Square Park, a short distance from the back entrance of the Co-Creative Center.

It is in the basement of that downtown facility where Soares may actually end up painting the mural image onto the panels this summer — if there’s enough room.

Regardless of where it’s eventually brought to life, he notes with some satisfaction that, when hung on the side of Cape Verdean Cultural Center, it will essentially function as the “entrance to the International Marketplace!”

That’s the official term of the commercial corridor that is The Ave and the surrounding North End area of the city.

That artistic entrance — as well as the center itself — will also serve as powerful symbol of the city’s unique and rich Cape Verdean heritage. Another point of satisfaction for Cape Verdean Eden Soares.

He was born in another city that also boasts a vibrant Cape Verdean community — Rotterdam. He says that especially after Cape Verde’s independence from Portugal in 1975, many immigrated to the Netherlands seeking greater economic stability.

He was only there for the first year of his life — and then went the other way. His family moved to Lisbon for three years before they finally settled on moving to the United States.

So, Soares terms himself, “an immigrant to New Bedford.”

It was a good fit — and he jumped right in.

Portuguese-speaking, he refused to take bilingual classes and insisted on being placed into English classes. It was a precocious streak that later characterized his first stirrings of creativity.

By 11, he was introduced to both hip-hop music and graffiti art by a cousin, which was the spark.

“The music sucked me in,” he says, and then he realized, “the art was an avenue for me to travel down.”

By 13, he was drawing flyers, then posters and business cards for family and friends.

When computer graphic design came into being, he was hooked and spent countless hours teaching himself Photoshop and other design programs. What gaming was to others, exploring desktop publishing was to Soares. “You couldn’t get me away!” he recalls.

He moved around over the years, including some time in New York, but always circled back to New Bedford. He’s worked for graphic design firms and done lots of freelance to pave the way.

He never remembers a problem getting work, and most of it comes from good word of mouth. He does it all under the trigrfx.com banner.

In between all the graphic work, he ventured outside for mural work or to do some graffiti when the opportunity arose.

And let it be reinforced that graffiti refers to a particular form of art that does not deface public property but seizes the chance to beautify neglected or abandoned spaces.

A mural of particular note was on the grounds of the former St. Anne’s Church in New Bedford’s South End for many years, part of a youth group program. Unfortunately it, as well as the church, is now part of history.

The next mural is meant to stand the test of time — and reflect a moment in time when Cape Verdean culture asserts itself in the city as never before.

The project to create the cultural center on Acushnet Avenue has long been in the works. The partnership with WHALE finally brings that promise toward reality. The potential impact could be vast.

While many efforts are underway to revitalize this North End neighborhood, the possibility of an institutional anchor like the cultural center, with the energy of its supporters, could finally bring it to the tipping point it needs to reach.

The streetscape is ready; it underwent an impressive redesign several years ago.

The commercial interests on The Ave are ready; collectively it’s gaining a reputation as a diverse dining destination.

The site is prepared; plans have been drawn up for what will be called Island Park beside the former theater.

It will reside under the mural Eden Soares will create. A new gateway brightened by the art and culture of a city — and the effort of a man who was only four-years-old when he first set foot upon its pavement.

“I’m blown away,” Eden Soares says of the opportunity. “I feel honored and blessed.”

Steven Froias blogs for the coworking facility, Groundwork! at NewBedfordCoworking.com. Email: StevenFroias@gmail.com.

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