By Jessica Stewart on July 8, 2025

“Life is way too short not to give it your all!”

Born and bred in Bushwick, Joe Ficalora has transformed the face of his neighborhood, transforming it into an open-air art museum with a project he calls the Bushwick Collective. But Ficalora is not your typical art curator. In fact, one could say he’s an accidental art curator who, in the best way, used his personal pain to reshape his environment.

n 2011, after losing his mother to a devastating battle with brain cancer, Ficalora was looking for a change. Unhappy with the graffiti-covered walls around him, he and a cousin went and painted a wall white, only to have it defaced after six hours. Frustrated by the situation, he began searching the internet for street artists who could transform the walls with their art. Even though he had no connections or experience with the art world, he took a chance and invited several artists to come and paint. And in June 2012, the Bushwick Collective was born.

Over the past 13 years, Ficalora’s personal initiative has changed Bushwick and drawn top-tier local and international talent. Everyone from legendary street artists Blek le Rat and Jef Aerosol to My Modern Met favorites Dasic and Alice Pasquini have left their mark on Bushwick’s walls.

What makes the Bushwick Collective unique in terms of street art projects is its scope, which moves far beyond the aesthetics of the finished artwork. Ficalora cares deeply that anyone who brings their work to the neighborhood understands its history and is passionate about being part of the community. And each year, an annual block party brings that community out en masse—a stark contrast to Ficalora’s days growing up there in the 90s, when he wasn’t allowed to play outside for safety reasons. […]

Tymon de Laat for The Bushwick Collective

Bushwick Collective Artist BBQ, an annual event held for artists who have painted for the collective. (Photo: Dave Lee)

Interview & more: Man Spends Over a Decade Beautifying His Brooklyn Neighborhood With Street Art [Interview]