Since Easter a mysterious group of robots began appearing along roadways throughout Wilmington, leaving many scratching their heads.
Unlike “The Terminator,” these robots are not out for blood. In fact, each of the colorfully painted plywood androids is spreading love with big hearts included on each. One even touts a sign encouraging everyone to “Dream Big!”
“I thought they were cute and then I started to think, ‘What do these mean?'” says Talleyville-area resident Nancy Crake, who has driven by three of the five robots while commuting into the city for her marketing job. “Is this a marketing campaign? If so, it’s really creative.”
After more than a month of curiosity and theories, the man behind the pop-up street art campaign can now be revealed, along with his intentions behind it.
The man behind the robots
Artist/musician David Sanchez, who goes by Chez when it comes to his art, has been making the robots with his 14-year-old son Jet and strapping them to utility poles throughout the city.
And while he is the owner of Spaceboy Clothing (205. N. Market St., Wilmington), works as a tattoo artist at Hereditary Tattoo & Piercing (7 S. Lincoln St., Wilmington) and performs in bands, Sanchez insists there’s no grand marketing intention behind the series.
It’s all about putting smiles on faces and adding a splash of unexpected color to the city, while also may be changing preconceptions some may have about Wilmington. It’s been a year in the making and was inspired by street art in other cities.
“I went to Los Angeles, San Diego and Austin and got jealous that they had all this going on and thought it would be good to try it here,” Sanchez says. “The visuals here in the city are pretty plain. I wanted to do something different and fun and finally got the guts to try it. I really just want to maybe help change someone’s mood and brighten their day.”
You could call him Wilmington’s own cheer-spreading Banksy, except that Sanchez doesn’t hide his identity.
Where to find them
The robots were strategically placed at entrance points to the city so they are seen by those coming into town.
They are located at Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard near Market Street; Pennsylvania Avenue at I-95; the Washington Street Bridge; South Union Street near Elsmere and North Union Street near Pennsylvania Avenue.
The most recent addition on North Union Street near Pennsylvania Avenue is the biggest installation yet. It depicts a super-sized blue-and-yellow robot on its toes spray-painting a big red heart on a white sheet, which covers an old, rusted billboard for the long-closed Closic’s baby furniture store.
Sanchez expects to add a sixth robot this week, probably near Rodney Square.
Each robot costs him about $100 out of his own pocket to make and display, he says.
The process starts with him sketching a robot design on an iPad and choosing a color scheme, making sure not to repeat from previous designs. He then primes a piece of plywood, projects his outline onto it and traces it onto the wood before cutting with a jigsaw. Then comes a round of sanding and the painting before heading to the robot’s new home and strapping it in.
‘Ask forgiveness, not permission’
Since Sanchez was not going to be directly tagging public property, but instead affixing his little guys with stainless steel mounting straps to poles, he followed the adage, “Askforgiveness, not permission,” and did not seek approval from any officials.
Nearly six weeks after the first purple-and-yellow robot appeared on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard not far from the Joseph R. Biden Jr. Railroad Station, Sanchez has not yet been contacted by any authorities. In fact, he often puts the robots up in the daytime and has not been stopped by police, either.
Even so, at least one city official has spotted his work and she approves: Tina Betz, director of the city’s Office of Cultural Affairs.
After about 25 years of heading Wilmington’s arts and culture office, including the city’s Fringe Festival for several years, she can only smile at the effort.
“Anything that is fun and inspirational and at the same time is an unexpected little surprise, it’s all good,” she says. “A positive message in a moment can have a ripple effect.”
If no one has complained within city government by now, she doesn’t expect anyone will. And if they do, “I would hope I’d be able to to talk that person off the ledge,” she says with a laugh.
Striking out on his own to make the city better is nothing new for Sanchez, 45, who lives in Wilmington.
Sanchez has long hosted live music performances and art shows at Spaceboy to help promote arts in the city. He also was behind the live performances and clean-up of the corner of West Fourth Street and North Shipley Street, which he dubbed Humble Park in 2017.
Nothing but love for the robots
While Sanchez doesn’t get to see the smiles in cars or any “ripple effect” from his positive messages, he has been posting about the project on his social media channels: Instagram (@hey_chez), Facebook (@xheychezx) and TikTok (@chezcreative).
These days, it seems anything can garner negative comments on the internet, yet he has not received any negative feedback ― only love, which is appropriate considering the heart theme. He has even been stopped in real life by a few people who recognized him from his posts.
“The feedback has all been awesome,” he says. “And I hope this opens up possibilities for other people and artists to build the courage to do something like this, too.”
“I just want people to feel a little differently about Wilmington. If this changes perception a smidgen, I’ll be happy.”
Betz agrees, hoping more positive pop-up art begins to dot the city landscape: “If other people are inspired to do the same thing with colorful, positive, fun messages, I hope they do.”
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As for commuter Crake, she still gets a kick out of the robots even weeks after they first appeared.
“They just make me smile. I’m delighted he’s doing it,” she says. “He’s spreading love, joy and brightening Wilmington up. And we can surely use that.”
Have a story idea? Contact Ryan Cormier of Delaware Online/The News Journal at [email protected] or (302) 324-2863. Follow him on Facebook (@ryancormier) and X (@ryancormier).
