The Transitions: Glass Tile Murals is now completed and available for viewing in the Church Avenue Subway Station in Brooklyn, NY. A commissioned work designed by Brooklyn native and world class artist Louis Delsarte, and fabricated in Munich, Germany by Gabriel and Franz Meyer. Delsarte began the drawings for the mural in 1994, which were completed in 2000. Fabrication began in Germany, where Delsarte traveled to oversee the glass tile fabrication process.

The Transitions mural illustrates a diverse Flatbush community. The title Transitions reflects the movement in space and time of the neighborhood’s history and its people. The neighborhood went through a great change from predominantly Jewish to primarily African American to Caribbean, Asian, African Americans and other residents. Delsarte graduated from Wingate High School on Rutland Rd and Kingston Ave in Flatbush and used to walk from Crown Heights to Flatbush everyday. In homage to his childhood and the neighborhood, Delsarte constructed this mural. Delsarte’s parents were very active in the Brooklyn communities in the 1950 & 60's. His father worked for the Board of Education as a guidance counselor and track coach. He also ran St John’s Day Camp for twenty years that serviced 500 plus children from the different neighborhoods.

The mural has four panels. Panel One deals with the Flatbush neighborhood as characteristic of the importance of "the block," housing residents who knew and interacted with each other. Images of Delsarte’s mother and other parents sitting on the stoops of their buildings watching the daily goings-on is depicted in vibrant color. Children playing jump rope, people walking, a time when people knew who strangers were on their block are all illustrated.

Panel Two, "Carnival" is a tribute to the neighborhood’s Caribbean inhabitants and their yearly ‘Jump Up" festival and parade which takes place in the Flatbush area. This gathering of thousands of Caribbean and members of the African Diaspora is similar to the Mardi Gras in New Orleans with its floats and costumed participants.

The third panel is called "The Marketplace," which is a scene depicting the Merchants of Flatbush with their different ethnic markets. Marketplaces throughout the African Diaspora are the locations where community members come together, mingle, and of course shop. Dry Goods, clothes, shoes, the basic reality of life in this area are illustrated on this panel. The scene harkens back to the small business atmosphere which maintains the uniqueness of an area, similar to Africa where the open marketplace is very important to the community and to the employment of its people.

The fourth panel is called "The Avenue of Churches" along Flatbush, where there are tons of churches of all kinds. People are always attending churches and trying to bring order to their lives through spiritual connection to their ethnic religions. Church in all its forms is as much an integral part of the community as are its residents, businesses and social activities.

Louis Delsarte is now an adjunct professor of Fine Arts and Humanities at Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA. A world-renowned artist and graduate of Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, Delsarte’s work is collected in some of America and the world’s finest art museums and galleries. He is a muralist of thirty years. He is a muralist of thirty years. Some of his most celebrated exhibitions are listed here: detailed biography. Delsarte continues to work in New York as an artist in residence at the New York University, and is involved with the Scholar in Residence/Artist in Residence Program at the New York University’s Faculty Resource Network. He maintains a studio in Manhattan and continues to work with the Bob Blackburn Print-making Workshop. Completed May 25, 2001, the Transitions: Glass Tile Murals are on permanent display.