Join us for the dedication of The Atlas of Tomorrow: A Device for Philosophical Reflections, a new mural by artist Candy Chang in collaboration with Mural Arts Philadelphia and the Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services (DBHIdS).

Emotional wellness, one of many aspects that determine our overall health, is often considered taboo and neglected. What if we embedded public tools to improve our emotional health into the city’s fabric? The Atlas of Tomorrow is an interactive mural that facilitates meditation on life’s issues. Inspired by the I Ching, one of the oldest books in the world, the mural provides practical wisdom and insight that can be applied to any situation.

Passersby are invited to consider a situation in their lives where they are seeking clarity, and then to spin the dial to select one of 64 fable-like stories along the wall. The selected story and artwork are intended to evoke a surreal inner world, a “town in your head” full of archetypes and patterns that help to examine personal behaviors and motivations, and lead to opportunities for growth. The project re-imagines what a mural can do and provides a place to pause and make sense of our lives together.

The Atlas of Tomorrow is a project of Mural Arts Philadelphia’s Porch Light department. Porch Light is funded by the City of Philadelphia Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services, and The Atlas of Tomorrow is made possible with additional support from the Hummingbird Foundation.