No Free Walls (2016)

'No Free Walls' is an in-depth look at Brooklyn's changing landscape, through the eyes of Joseph Ficalora, the founder and inadvertent art curator of the Bushwick Collective art project. Joe, the son of Italian immigrants, grew up in the Bushwick area of Brooklyn, when the area was ravaged by drugs, neglect and violence. At the age of 10, Joe's father was stabbed to death in an act of random violence, then later lost his mother to cancer as an adult. Instead of plunging into depression, Joe decided to honor his them by contacting muralists from all over the world to beautify the neighborhood and paint the old warehouses that line the blocks of Bushwick. The Bushwick Collective, as it became known, began attracting art enthusiasts from around the world, while also catching the attention of various news outlets and eventually, advertisers and real-estate developers. Now, 5 years later, Bushwick is one of the hottest and fastest gentrifying neighborhoods in NY, but many original Bushwick residents are finding it hard to keep up with the ever increasing rents. Plus advertisers are now coming to the neighborhood, painting and plastering walls with ads, encroaching on the spaces Joe has fought to beautify. Can a community thriving with creativity survive the change? Or will the spreading wave of gentrification whitewash their world-renowned art? 'No Free Walls' from Complex News Documentaries will examine what role the Bushwick Collective may have played in all of this, and more.