Patrice O’Neal Benefit to Fundraise for Little Italy Mural Canceled
Mock up of location of planned Patrice O’Neal mural
A fundraiser scheduled to take place at Gotham Comedy Club this coming Monday to raise money for a Patrice O’Neal mural has been canceled. Citing disagreements with Patrice’s family, Wayne Rada who chaired the event, let The Interrobang know this morning that they have already completed refunds for all 220 tickets purchased. “My only concern is, we have an impeccable track record,” Rada said. “We do, what we say we are going to do. I just ask the charity be spoke of fairly.”
Rada is the founder and curator of the Little Italy Street Art Project (the L.I.S.A. Project) and had planned to create a three story high mural of the comedian who passed away six years ago today. Rada said the mural was being designed by a famed street artist who had also planned to immortalize many of Patrice’s comedy friends in the background ‘fabric’ of the mural which was planned to be a permanent installation on a street corner in Little Italy. The planned location, subject to getting approvals was the southwest corner of Houston and Mac Dougal and would be approximately 40’ tall and 100’ wide.
According to Rada, the cancelled Gotham event, would have raised the funds needed to pay for fees to the Landmark Preservation Committee. Several of Patrice’s comedy friends were scheduled to perform.
The LISA Project NYC is a volunteer run 501c3 public art charity. Founded in 2012, with the support of Little Italy, Robert Ianniello, Caroline Hirsch and Louis Faranda for the 2012 New York Comedy Festival’s “Art of Comedy.”
Rada says he still plans to continue the project, and will look to raise the funds on his own.
Patrice O’Neal passed away six years ago today, on November 29 and left a giant empty space in the comedy world. Read more about Patrice here.
