When you next come to Manhattan, and yes, New Yorkers, I’m talking to you too, get thee to RiseNY. It is a pure joy. They took a NYC low-rise building, hollowed it out, turned half into an interactive museum of NYC organized by topic – architecture, finance, film, TV & radio, music, Broadway, and film. The other half is a ride that lifts you about 4′ off the floor, but sends you soaring all over the five boroughs of New York. The ride is presented in a 30-foot, 1808-degree projection dome featuring 8K aerial footage, and includes wind, mist, and even (good) scents. And the transition from the museum to the ride is really well done and includes some fun surprises. RiseNY is the most thrilling, beautiful, joyous, touristy thing you can do for yourself, your friends, and your out-of-town guests. It’s suitable for all ages (though I wouldn’t bring babies).

Which brings me to today’s artist! Brooklyn-based large-scale mural artist Jenna Morello was hired to design and paint the impressive building-high front of RiseNY, and she absolutely nailed it! Though she started as a street artist, Morello pretty quickly started getting commission requests, first from store and building owners who wanted custom art, then by cities and parks departments all over the country. Her approach to painting is very… artsy.

“People start to grid…but I’m just not good with it. Some people paint in a way where it’s perfect top to bottom, they waste no paint, it’s like a printer. I just kind of throw it and then I just kind of hone it in. I screw up all the time. I’m sure I waste a crazy amount of paint [but] I’ve gotten better, and I’ve also learned that what I look at as a screw up, 9 out of 10 people won’t even notice.”

You can follow Jenna Morello on her website and on TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook.