UNDERGROUND RAILROAD: Inspired by the Underground Railroad, this mural can be found behind the Arts Council of Princeton’s Paul Robeson Center, where it was completed by artists Will “Kasso” Condry and James “Luv 1” Kelewae on Sunday, September 14. Both artists are members of the S.A.G.E. Coalition. For more information, call (609) 924 8777, or visit www.artscouncilofprinceton.org.

It’s not visible from Witherspoon Street, so you’ll have to look behind the Arts Council of Princeton’s Paul Robeson Center building to discover the brightly-colored mural that was painted there on Sunday, September 14.

The mural’s clandestine positioning speaks directly to the subject that inspired the artwork. Titled Underground Railroad, the mural commemorates the historic web of routes and safe houses that escaped slaves from the south followed and found refuge in on their harrowing journeys to freedom.

The routes covered thousands of miles and ran through New Jersey. Sections were known as “stations,” and Station A ran through Princeton’s Witherspoon-Jackson neighborhood. The mural thus serves as a reminder of Princeton’s historical involvement in the Underground Railroad.

“Those viewers who choose to wander in and explore the ‘hidden’ wall will experience the clandestine nature of the Underground Railroad as well as that of contemporary urban art,” said local curator, writer, teacher and photographer Ricardo Barros who conceived of the work.

Completed in one day by Will “Kasso” Condry and James “Luv 1” Kelewae of Trenton’s S.A.G.E. Coalition, the mural also pays homage to the tradition of quilt-making. According to a press release following the event, “the alternating diamond patterns and geometric shapes that can be seen throughout the mural are directly inspired by African-American quilt patterns, bringing to mind their importance in telling the story of the Underground Railroad.”

As members of the S.A.G.E. nonprofit organization formed in 2012 to initiate, plan, and execute inner-city beautification projects, both artists are used to being watched by the public as they work, in this case to the music of OLD SOL, a Trenton-based funk, hip-hop, and soul band. The arts coalition is a diverse group of visual artists, engineers, fabricators, musicians, and teachers who create everything from murals to 3-D models. Kasso and Luv 1 have already created a series of public art projects in Trenton, including a depiction of Gandhi, the Dalai Lama, and Barack Obama. The Gandhi mural generated a strong, positive, public response, and led to the transformation of an abandoned lot into a public urban garden, known as Gandhi’s Garden.

The ACP abstract mural, which took 10 hours to complete, interweaves symbolic images such as lantern, sailboat, sun, moon, and star. The project brings together the art communities of Princeton and Trenton, which is exactly what Mr. Barros, a resident of the Witherspoon-Jackson neighborhood and ACP Exhibition Committee member, had in mind.

“This day will go down in history. Not because of what we painted, but because of the connections that were made and the new bridges that were built,” said Kasso in a recent blog post on the ACP website, where comments and perspectives on the mural can be viewed.

For more on the S.A.G.E. Coalition, visit http://sagecoalitionnj.com/. For more information, visit www.artscouncilofprinceton.org or call (609) 924-8777.